A Ron in shining armour
by ScareGlow
Summary: When Ron helps Bonnie after a party, he finds himself in an unusual sitch. How will he deal with it, and what will others say? Rated T for suggested adult themes. R&R please!
1. Ron to the rescue!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except perhaps a few reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series. Bear with my English, as I am not a native speaker, thanks!

Enjoy the story, and feedback is always appreciated!

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Ron looked around, again wondering why he'd even bothered to come here. He sighed. It was a Friday night, so when he'd received the invitation for "the greatest party of the year", he'd naturally accepted. The problem was that almost none of his few friends were here: Felix was in Chicago with his mother to demonstrate his cyber-robotic wheelchair on some convention, and Kim was visiting her cousin Joss over the weekend. Monique was there alright, but he didn't want to stick with her all evening, especially since she had quickly found a hottie that she was now talking to. The girls of the cheer squad were mostly dancing on the improvised dance floor to the rather loud music, and the jocks were sitting on the living room sofas, drinking a beer. Ron wandered over to the table with the snacks and grabbed a sandwich.

He almost smiled at the irony: He had been so excited to actually receive an invitation to a party, and now it was pretty boring. At least he hadn't got into trouble… Some people had even greeted him, like Tara (who was always pretty friendly) and – surprisingly – Brick (but then again he wasn't with Bonnie at the moment). He sighed again. There was no use in staying, so he decided to go home early. He could always stop at Bueno Nacho and get some snackage to take home. After all, he owed his little buddy Rufus for leaving him back in his room tonight.

Ron finished his sandwich, got his jacket and left the house.

He was just about to start his scooter when he thought he heard a muffled scream. He crossed the street to find out if someone was in trouble. There was a small park right opposite the house, and Ron gulped when he approached it. He didn't like parks at night, and he didn't feel like getting in a fight or something, but if there really was someone who needed help…

He tip-toed into the park, surprising himself by making very little noise.

There! He heard that muffled scream again! "Shut it, bitch!" Ron tensed at the aggressive whisper. The voice sounded pretty drunk, and after a few steps in the direction of that voice, he could finally see what was going on: There were two guys and a girl; one of the guys was holding her, while the other tried to get off her dress.

Ron's eyes narrowed. He couldn't go for help; it would take too long. There was only one thing he could do: try to help the girl.

The guys seemed older than he was and pretty athletic, but if they were as drunk as they seemed to be (judging from their movements and behaviour), perhaps he could use that to his advantage.

Ron jumped at the first guy, the one trying to undress the girl, delivering a jump-kick that knocked the guy down. The other one let go of the girl in his surprise. "Yo, man, what's up?" He sounded even more drunk than the first one.

Ron kept his eyes on both guys (the other one was just getting up again), when he answered. "I don't think the lady's enjoying your company, so why don't you just go, and no one gets hurt?"

The guy he had kicked sniggered. "Get lost; that's none of your business." He took a step towards Ron. "But if it's a beating you want…"

Ron nodded. "Bring it, dude."

The guy stormed forward, but Ron could easily dodge the clumsy attack and tripped the guy. The other one tried to sneak up on Ron from behind, but Ron rammed his elbow into the guy's stomach and his fist in his face. The guy's nose gave an audible 'crack' when it broke. The first one got up yet again, but before he could try for another attack, Ron delivered a kick to his face that had him on the ground again. "Agh! Come on, Marv, the slut isn't worth the trouble!"

Ron didn't follow them when they retreated, moaning and holding their injured body parts, but turned to the girl who was still sitting on the ground in a heap. He gasped when he realised who it was.

Bonnie Rockwaller.

"Bonnie? Uh… are you ok? Did they hurt you?" Ron kneeled beside her, but was quite unsure what to do.

Bonnie raised her head. She was crying, embracing herself, and obviously hadn't noticed Ron kneeling beside her. "S… Stoppable?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's me, Bonnie. Those jerks are gone; you're safe."

Her eyes widened for a moment, and then she flung herself into his arms, sobbing into his chest.

Ron awkwardly patted her back. "It's okay, Bonnie, they won't hurt you. Nothing can happen to you," he kept muttering, trying to calm her down.

It seemed to work at least a little, as she stopped sobbing after a while. She didn't let go, however.

"Listen, Bonnie, why don't I take you home? You had a rough night and…"

"NO!" She practically screamed and clutched him even tighter. "No, I can't go home! Don't make me go there!"

Ron was confused. "Why, Bonnie?"

But he didn't get an answer. Bonnie just started crying again and repeated over and over that she couldn't go home.

He patted her back again. "Shhh, don't worry, you don't have to go there if you don't want to." While he tried to calm her down again, he kept thinking. Where else could he take her? He couldn't just go back to the party with her; there would be too many questions and curious stares. He knew how important status and appearance were to Bonnie, so she couldn't be seen in the state she was in. Normally, he would have called Kim, but she wasn't anywhere near, and he didn't think that Wade would be able to help him with this. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Bonnie, do you have your cell phone on you?"

The brunette had calmed down enough to raise her head and look at him. "Yes, why?"

"I'll call Tara. She's just inside at the party. She's your friend; she'll help."

Bonnie nodded and handed Ron her mobile, still sniffing and shivering and holding onto Ron's arm.

Ron took off his jacket and wrapped it around Bonnie, then called Tara. Fortunately, she answered the call pretty quickly.

"Hello Bonnie?"

"Hi Tara, this is Ron!"

"Ron? Why do you have Bonnie's cell?"

"I'm just outside in the little park opposite the house. Could you come out here? I need your help." He tried to sound as calm as possible, so that he wouldn't alert Tara or worry Bonnie too much. If there was one thing he had learned on different rescue missions with Kim, it was that he had to appear calm and in control if he wanted to help in such a situation. It seemed to work.

"Ok, I'll be right there. Should I bring the others?"

"No, that won't be necessary. Thanks, Tara." He ended the call and returned the mobile. Bonnie quickly put it in her handbag before wrapping her arms around Ron again.

He kept patting and stroking her back in order to keep her calm, but she didn't stop shivering.

Within a few minutes, the platinum blonde hair of Tara appeared outside the house, and the cheerleader quickly walked over to the park.

Ron rose with Bonnie still clinging to him and waved Tara over.

"Ron, Bonnie, what… what happened?" She sounded pretty worried now, seeing how upset Bonnie obviously was.

Ron answered as calmly as he could. "Bonnie had trouble with two guys…"

Tara understood immediately, and her eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god! Bonnie! Did they hurt you? Are you alright?"

Bonnie turned to her with red eyes, never releasing Ron from her grip. "They couldn't… do it. They were trying to get my dress off when Ron came. He…" She paused and turned her head, as if she was only now realising what she was about to say. "He saved me. He kicked their butts when they wouldn't leave me alone."

"Really?" Tara asked in an awed voice.

Ron blushed slightly. "I didn't do all that much. They were too drunk to fight, so they quickly left."

Bonnie shook her head almost furiously. "He wiped the floor with them, Tara."

Ron blushed even more and turned to the blonde. "Anyway, I called you here because Bonnie doesn't want to go home."

Tara looked confused now. "What? Why wouldn't you want to go home, Bonnie?"

Bonnie slowly shook her head, fresh tears rolling down her cheeks. "I can't. I can't go there."

Tara placed her hands softly on Bonnie's shoulders. "But why not?"

"They'll be there…" Her voice was no more than a whisper, and it sounded very scared.

"Those guys?" Ron asked, surprised. When Bonnie nodded, he added: "Why would they be there?"

Bonnie buried her face in Ron's chest. "Because… because they're…"

"They're what?" Tara prompted in a soothing voice.

"They're my sisters' boyfriends."


	2. Taking them home

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except hopefully more reviews g).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series. Bear with my English, as I am not a native speaker, thanks! (But please do tell me if you find any mistakes, so that I can improve)

I'd also like to thank you all for the great response I got to my first chapter:) That was a most welcome surprise; I just hope I won't let you down with the next chapters. And now enjoy chapter 2:) And, of course, reviews are still highly appreciated! ;)

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Tara clapped her hands over her mouth in horror, while Ron just stared, flabbergasted.

"Oh my God, Bonnie, that's horrible!" Tara finally said.

"But now we know who they are," Ron began. "So we tell your sisters…"

"NO!" Bonnie shrieked. "They… they hate me. They wouldn't believe me. They'd probably say it's my fault in the first place."

Ron seemed even more flabbergasted than before. "What? But Bonnie…"

"They hate me! I can't tell them!" She broke down in sobs.

Ron automatically started stroking her back again. "Okay, Bonnie, so we don't take you home. Don't worry." He looked at Tara. "Tara, could Bonnie stay at your place for the night?"

The blonde cheerleader nodded. "My parents are away for the weekend, so that's no problem."

Ron turned back to Bonnie. "Would you stay with Tara for tonight? Is that okay?"

The brunette merely nodded.

Tara placed a reassuring hand on Bonnie's shoulder. "Okay then, let's go to my car and we'll be off."

"Do you have everything with you?" Ron asked. "Coat, keys? Do you need to say good-bye to your boy-friend?"

Bonnie didn't answer at all, just kept her arms around Ron, but Tara smiled. "We didn't have coats with us when we came, and since we don't have any boy-friends at the moment, there's no one we need to say bye to."

Ron was surprised. "But Tara, aren't you dating Josh?"

The blonde shook her head. "We went out a couple times, but it didn't work out. He's just not my type, I guess."

Ron just shrugged at the info and accompanied the girls to Tara's car.

Tara unlocked the door, and Ron helped Bonnie into the backseat. "Well then, I guess it's good-night." However, Bonnie didn't let go of his arm. "Ahem… Bonnie, I'm going to need that arm."

The brunette looked at him with fearful eyes. She opened her mouth several times, but she seemed unable to say anything.

Ron looked helplessly at Tara, who just smiled reassuringly. "Why don't you take Bonnie and me home? I'm sure when we're at my place, Bonnie will feel better and let you go."

"Well… erm… if you say so…" Ron stuttered. He had never been to a girl's place before (unless you counted Kim's, which was ridiculous as they had been best friends forever), but if Tara thought it might help… He got into the backseat beside Bonnie, who still didn't let go of him and rested her head on his shoulder as soon as he was inside.

Tara got into the driver's seat, and a couple of minutes later they arrived at Tara's house.

Tara unlocked and opened the front door and let them in. Ron followed Tara into her room with Bonnie firmly attached to his arm. He felt rather nervous, being in Tara's room with her and Bonnie, but he tried to swallow it down. Instead, he took a look around. It wasn't as horrible as he'd have imagined: just a few posters and plush animals that clearly spelled out that this was a girl's room, but the furniture was nice (and not pink), and he felt rather at ease when he saw a crumpled cheerleader outfit on the floor.

Tara, following his gaze, blushed profusely and quickly threw the outfit into a laundry-basket. "Sorry, I just threw everything in after cheer practise today."

Ron smiled. "Don't worry, my room usually looks much worse than that. I think it makes the room comfier."

Tara raised an eye-brow. "Dirty clothes make a room comfier?"

"Huh? No! I mean, that's not what I meant. Er… I meant it's nice to see that a girl's room isn't perfect and sparkling either." He sighed. "I'm not exactly improving my statement, am I?"

Tara giggled. "I know what you mean."

Ron, looking for an escape before embarrassing himself further, turned back to Bonnie. "Hey, how are you feeling now? Any better?"

Bonnie nodded slowly and, for the first time this evening, let go of his arm. She walked over to Tara's bed and sat down, wrapping her arms around herself.

Ron scratched his neck. "Well then… err… anything else I can do?" He felt a bit awkward, and it seemed to show, for Tara squeezed his arm reassuringly.

"I think we'll be fine now, Ron. Thanks for helping Bonnie and taking us home."

"Hey, don't mention it. So I guess I'll leave then."

Tara nodded. "I'll see you out."

Ron looked at Bonnie, still feeling a bit insecure about the whole affair. "Well, good-night, Bonnie."

"Night, Ron," Bonnie answered very quietly, not really looking at him.

Tara walked to the front door with Ron, who cleared his throat before speaking.

"Well, do you think she'll be alright?"

Tara smiled softly. "Yes, I think so. Not right away of course, but I think she'll manage."

He scratched his neck again. "Anyway, if you need help or something, you can reach me anytime. Just go to the website, that's the quickest way."

Tara looked a bit surprised. "Quicker than calling?"

Ron nodded, flashing his goofy smile. "You don't know Wade… and besides, I might not be home all the time, and I still don't have a mobile."

"Okay."

"Right. Well, good-night, then."

Tara stopped him by taking his hand. "Ron… I just wanted to say thank you. For everything."

He blushed. "Hey, no big, anyone would've done that."

"No," she insisted, "I think only very few people would've helped like you did. Bonnie was very lucky that you were around. So thank you." With that, she gave him a peck on the cheek, and, blushing, said good-night.

After the door had closed, Ron stood there for a few moments. What a surreal night this had been. He had helped Bonnie of all people, and now Tara had kissed him. Did that mean anything? Ron remembered that Tara used to have a crush on him (at least according to Kim and Wade), but did she like him now? He sighed. He'd probably never figure out girls. Finally, he shrugged and turned to walk back to the party. After all, he had to pick up his scooter, which was still there. He just hoped Bonnie would be alright.


	3. The Saturday after

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except hopefully more reviews gg).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series. Since so many people complimented me on my English (thanks guys!), I'll leave the "I'm not a native speaker" remark out this time. ;)

Again, many thanks for those great reviews! They're a great motivation:) Now enjoy the new chapter!

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It was a pretty normal Saturday morning for one Ron Stoppable. He had slept in, since he had come home pretty late last night, and was now munching some cereal with his little buddy Rufus, when his mind drifted off to the events of the night before. He wondered how Tara and Bonnie were doing. He would have called, but he didn't have their numbers, and he didn't want to just show up on Tara's doorstep. Of course, he could always ask Wade to get him their numbers, but he didn't want to do that, especially after 'the vote'.

When he had become the mascot and thus a member of the cheerleader team, his phone number had been added to the list that every team member got. Well, every member but him. The girls had voted on whether the "total loser", as Bonnie had termed him, could be allowed to have something as precious as the phone numbers of the entire cheer squad. He hadn't been present when they decided, but from the way Kim had avoided the subject when he'd asked her, it must have been a very clear vote.

Finishing his cereal, he looked to his naked mole rat. "Well, buddy, what should we do this weekend? Kim and Felix are away, so we have lots of time on our hands."

The little rodent seemed to think for a moment, his paw scratching his chin, before his expression brightened. "Bueno Nacho!" He then proceeded to rub his belly.

Ron sighed theatrically. "You have just eaten an entire bowl of cereals! You know, sometimes I think you dig food even more than I do!"

Rufus looked at him with big, pleading eyes. "Cheese!"

Ron grinned and opened the pocket in his cargo pants. Rufus happily jumped inside. "Alright, Rufus, we'll grab some snackage."

"Yay!"

A short while later, Ron was sitting in his favourite booth with several nacos, burritos and tacos in front of him.

Rufus, who was on the table as well, was rubbing his paws. "Yummy!"

Ron grinned. "Nothing like a few grande sized menus from Bueno Nacho to brighten the day!"

Rufus chirped, "grande sized!" before jumping into his plate of tacos with only his tail peeping out.

Between the two of them, the food lasted for about ten minutes.

Ron was just wondering what to do next, when Ned called from the counter. "Hey Ron! Phone call for you!"

Ron looked up, surprised. Who would…? Then he grinned. It had to be Wade! He walked over to the counter and picked up the phone Ned was holding.

"Hey Wade, what's up?"

"How did you know it was me?"

Ron grinned. "Who else would know that I'm here right now and want to contact me?"

"Um, you got a point there. Anyway, the reason I'm calling: I got a hit on the website. It's the Middleton Museum. They'll open a new exhibition tomorrow and are afraid someone might come beforehand to grab some of the exhibits."

Ron's brow furrowed. "And they need us why?"

Wade sighed. "Well, a couple of their regular guards have called in sick, so I guess they need the extra manpower. Other than that, I'm not sure. There's nothing in this exhibition that would attract any of our regulars, but I guess it won't hurt to show up for a couple hours till the next shift arrives. I mean, it's basically round the corner…"

Ron nodded. "Alright then, I'll be on my way. I'll just pick up some homework and then head over to the museum."

"I guess you won't need a ride," Wade stated in an amused tone.

Ron smiled. "Nah, my scooter should manage the huge distance somehow."

"Oh, yes, I almost forgot: Since it's nothing special, I haven't called Kim. Do you think you'll be alright on your own?"

"No problemo, Wade. I can handle some guard duty."

"Okay. Talk to you later then."

"Bye Wade." Ron handed the phone back to Ned and returned to his table. "Well, buddy, we have a mission. And it's monkey-free, too!"

Rufus nodded enthusiastically. "Uh-huh, uh-huh, mission!"

Ron picked the mole rat up and put him in his pocket. "Alright, let's jet! Or… let's ride the scooter… ah, you know what I mean."

About half an hour later, Ron arrived at the Middleton Museum and was immediately greeted by the director.

"Ah, Mr. Stoppable, I assume." When Ron nodded, the man continued. "I'm so glad to have a member of Team Possible here. I mean, who'd be better suited to keep an eye on our precious exhibition than our own local team of heroes!"

Ron smiled, slightly uncomfortable with the praise. "It's no big." He almost grinned. 'So that's what it's like for Kim.' Following the director inside, he added, "I didn't have much to do anyway." He was shown into a small security office, where he joined the regular watchmen. They were friendly enough, and Ron soon got out his homework. 'Might as well get that stuff done with. KP will be very surprised when she hears I actually did my homework on a Saturday!' With that thought, he started an essay for his history class.

Unsurprisingly, no villain attempted anything during Ron's shift, so he had a rather peaceful time at the museum. 'Good thing we didn't call KP for this', Ron thought, 'she would've been bored to death.' Once again, his thoughts drifted to the events of Friday night. 'I wonder why I haven't heard anything from Tara or Bonnie…' He shrugged. Probably Bonnie already regretted her behaviour toward him, but he thought Tara would perhaps call. 'Maybe tomorrow', he mused.

At that moment, the phone rang, and Ron picked up.

"Hello?"

"Ron, this is Wade. Just wanted to hear how everything's going."

"Hi Wade. Well, nothing much going on…"

The boy genius chuckled. "Well, I guess you can head home then. The next shift should arrive any minute now."

Ron nodded and yawned. "Alright, Wade. I'll do a final patrol and leave then."

"Ok, bye Ron."

"Later, Wade." He hung up, rose from his chair and stretched. He then patrolled through the deserted corridors of the museum. When he returned to the security office, the night shift was just arriving. 'Excellent timing', he thought. After a quick report, he gathered his things and headed home, looking forward to a good night's sleep.

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Further AN: I know, nothing happened in this chapter, but you'll find out why in the next chapter, which will have lots of the Rockwallers, Tara and Ron in it, promised! I have to admit I quite enjoyed writing a "quiet" chapter, though.


	4. Convincing Bonnie

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Once again thanks for the reviews! I can't express how great it is to get so much (and so positive) feedback for a story! So as a little thank you from me, I'll update now even though my parents are visiting for a week and I'm trying to spend lots of time with them! As always, keep the reviews coming, please! And now enjoy chapter 4!

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_RIIIIIIIING_

Ron moaned. It was Sunday morning, and he cursed silently.

_RIIIIIIIING_

Why the heck had he set his alarm clock?

_RIIIIIIIING_

By now, he had come to his senses enough to realize that it was not his alarm clock, but the phone that had woken him from his slumber.

_RIIIIIIIING_

He glanced at his alarm clock. It was ten o'clock. He yawned and reached for his phone, which was on the nightstand. He managed to grab it, but he had leaned out too far, and gravity took its toll. With a 'thud', he landed on the floor, tangled up in his blanket. With a moan, he finally answered the phone. "Yes?"

"Ron, this is Wade. Did I wake you up?"

He managed to free himself and groggily stood up. "Not at all, Wade, I usually get up at six on a Sunday."

"Ron, it's ten o'clock! I would've called earlier after I got that hit on the website, but I thought you'd still be asleep."

This got Ron's attention, and he finally fully opened his eyes. "What hit?"

"From Tara. She asked that you please come to her house at eleven."

Grabbing a fresh towel, Ron stumbled toward the bathroom. "Did she say anything else?"

"No, the text was pretty short. I told her you'd be there."

"Thanks, Wade! And sorry about earlier."

"Don't worry, I know you're not exactly a morning person." The boy chuckled. "Or whenever you wake up."

Ron grimaced. "Wade, I know you're a genius, but the jokes? That's my turf."

"Oh, come on, you've made much lamer jokes than that."

"My turf, buddy. How would you feel if I took over the science department?"

"I'd be honestly worried about the safety of the world."

"See? So don't force me out of my turf."

Wade had to stifle a laugh. "Ok, Ron, I can't fight that logic."

Ron grinned while stepping out of his pyjama bottoms. "Ha! The Ron-man still got it!"

"Whatever you say, 'Ron-man'," Wade answered, but it was obvious he was grinning. "Just make sure you're on time."

"I will. Thanks again, Wade. Catch you later!"

"Bye, Ron."

After hanging up, Ron entered the shower and turned on the water. 'Good thing I called Wade after I got home on Friday', he thought. 'He'd be really confused about that hit if I hadn't.'

Twenty minutes later, Ron entered the kitchen, showered and dressed. Rufus was still upstairs, fast asleep, and Ron had the distinct feeling that it might be better if he left his little buddy at home for this special mission. While Tara didn't mind Rufus (at least he thought she didn't), he knew that Bonnie was always freaked out by the naked mole-rat. He had a quick breakfast, and then went to put on his shoes and a jacket. Before he left, he looked himself over in the mirror. He had put on a dark blue shirt and his usual cargo pants. The shirt had been a present from Kim; he had originally wanted to wear it on dates only, with the result that it had been hanging in his wardrobe for over half a year now without ever being worn. So, he'd decided to wear it today, because while it wasn't a date, he was still meeting with two pretty girls and thought he could as well try to look nicer than usual.

Surprising even himself, Ron rang the doorbell at Tara's house at eleven o'clock sharp. He could hear footsteps approaching, and then the door opened to reveal Tara in a nice blouse and skirt.

"Hi Ron, thanks for coming." She motioned for him to enter.

"Hi Tara. Not a problem; I told you to call if you needed me", he said while stepping inside. "So how have you two been?"

Tara closed the door, then turned to him with a slight frown on her face. "Well, yesterday was just fine, and I guess today would be as well, if I hadn't told Bonnie that she'll have to go home today."

The freckled boy just nodded. "She still doesn't want to go home then?"

"That's right", Tara replied. "Yesterday, she just pretended nothing had happened. But when I told her she had to go home today, she started shaking all over again, but I didn't tell you that."

At Ron's puzzled expression, the platinum blonde explained. "Well, you see, Bonnie hates it when people think she's weak."

Ron's expression became even more confused. "But what…? Oh!" He understood. "But… I mean, she was almost… you know…" He scratched his neck, feeling very uncomfortable talking about Friday night. "Anyway, I don't think anyone would call it weakness to be shaken by something like that."

"Me neither", Tara consented. "But that's Bonnie for you. Well, we better go upstairs."

Ron touched her shoulder, which stopped the platinum blonde. She turned to him with a questioning look.

"Um, Tara, if Bonnie hates people seeing her in a state of what she thinks is weakness, won't she claw my eyes out when she sees me of all people?" He sounded a bit nervous, but Tara just smiled.

"I don't think so, Ron. Now come on upstairs, or don't you want to help?" Her look became almost pout-like, and Ron's shoulders sagged in defeat.

"I'm coming… I might regret it later, but I'm coming…"

The blonde cheerleader beamed. "I knew I could count on you."

They entered Tara's room together, where Bonnie was sitting on the bed, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Hi Bonnie", Ron greeted carefully.

The brunette hadn't seen him enter, and her eyes widened a little. "Ron? What… what are you doing here?"

He looked at Tara nervously. "Well, Tara called, so I came over."

The platinum blonde took over. "Bonnie, you'll have to go home soon. My parents will come back tonight, and tomorrow is a school day."

Bonnie shook her head furiously. "I'm not going!"

Ron stepped over to her and sat down beside her. "That bad with your sisters, huh?" he asked sympathetically.

Bonnie didn't look his way when she answered. "You have no idea."

Ron sighed. "I guess I don't." There was a small pause before he continued. "What do you say we all go together? We'll tell your family…"

"No way!" Bonnie interrupted. She wrapped her arms around herself in order to stop her hands from shaking. "I… I can't tell them."

Ron stood up. "Well, then I'll go there and tell them."

Bonnie jumped from the bed. "What?" She just stared at Ron, who shrugged.

"Well, someone has to, and if you won't go, then I will. These guys have gone way too far, Bonnie. I won't stand by and ignore that." He sounded very determined, more determined than either girl had ever heard him speak.

Bonnie's shoulders sagged, and she answered very quietly, "ok, Ron. If you go, I'll come with. But I don't like it."

Ron squeezed her arm reassuringly. "You don't have to like it, Bonnie. Heck, I'd be very surprised if you liked it. But they mustn't try something like that again, and they mustn't get away with what they've done."

The brunette just nodded, while Tara smiled happily. "Alright, I'll drive!" she exclaimed in her usual cheery tone.

Together, the three of them left for Bonnie's home.


	5. Connie and Lonnie

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Alright, it's time to meet the sisters! This chapter is a bit longer, and I hope you'll enjoy it! Again, thanks for the reviews! On with the show!

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The ride was very quiet, and Bonnie seemed reluctant to leave the car when they arrived. At the door, Bonnie turned to Tara and Ron. "Alright, we're here, so let's just get inside without causing a commotion, right?" She had looked at Ron specifically when she said the last part.

He just flashed his goofy smile. "I won't cause anything, Bon-Bon."

If he wanted to defuse the tension, he failed. Bonnie just frowned deeply. "Don't call me that, Stoppable." She took out her keys and unlooked the front door, but they had hardly entered when two figures approached from the living room.

"If it isn't little Bon-bon returning from God knows where!" one of them said in a very unfriendly tone of voice.

Bonnie grimaced. "Stoppable, meet my older sisters, Connie and Lonnie."

Ron had tensed up a little, but decided to try the friendly approach, so he stepped forward with his hand extended. "Hi, I'm…"

But he couldn't finish his introduction, as he was interrupted: "Bonnie's latest loser boyfriend", Connie finished for him. "Like we care."

Lonnie snorted. "But you know, Bonnie, that quarterback of yours at least got looks. What's this one got? A stamp collection?"

Both sisters started laughing derisively.

Tara was fiddling nervously, and Bonnie had a very ugly look on her face, but Ron never lost his cheerfulness when he answered. "Actually, I don't have any stamps, and I'm certainly not her boyfriend, but that's okay. We all make mistakes."

While Connie and Lonnie raised their eye-brows in confusion, Ron turned to Tara and Bonnie. "Tara, why don't you take Bonnie to her room. I'll have a quick word with her sisters."

Connie smirked at that. "What, Bonnie? You now need some high-school loser to stand up for you? I mean I know you don't have the brains…"

"… and you certainly lack the looks…" Lonnie chimed in.

"… cause we got them…" they continued in unison.

"Okay, that's enough!" Bonnie screamed. "Where's mom?"

"She's over at the Massey's." Connie answered, too surprised by Bonnie's outburst to tease her. "She'll be back for dinner."

Bonnie turned away, because she felt a new wave of tears threatening to fall and didn't want her sisters to see her crying. "This is just great!"

Tara took a step toward her, but the brunette raised a hand to stop her. "I'm fine, Tara, I just need to go to my room for a moment." She hurried up the stairs before anyone could say another word.

Lonnie sniggered. "Was she about to cry? Honestly, she gets weirder by the day." She stopped sniggering, however, when she saw the expression on Ron's face.

Connie saw it, too, because she seemed a little nervous now.

Ron didn't look at Tara when he told her, "Tara, please go see how Bonnie's doing." His voice could have cut steel, and the platinum blonde just gave a high-pitched "okay" before rushing after Bonnie.

When he heard the door upstairs close, Ron waited another moment, before he started to speak, his expression still cold. "Did you see your boyfriends this weekend?"

Connie and Lonnie looked at him as if he were crazy. "What?" they asked in unison.

"You heard me. Did you see them?"

They shared a look before Lonnie answered. "Yes, they were here yesterday. Why?"

"And did they happen to have any injuries?" he asked without answering the question.

Lonnie gasped in surprise.

"Yes, how do you know that?" asked Connie.

"Did they tell you how they got these injuries?" Ron continued, again ignoring the question he'd been asked.

Connie's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Yes, they told us they had a car accident."

Ron gave a humourless laugh that sent chills down the spines of Bonnie's sisters. "A car accident. Funny. I seem to remember breaking the nose of one of them and kicking down the other one after they tried to rape Bonnie."

This statement was followed by complete silence. The eyes of Connie and Lonnie had widened in shock, and they seemed to have trouble understanding what Ron had just said. Finally, it was Connie who, in a very shaky voice, squeaked, "what?"

Ron nodded grimly. "There was a party last Friday, and when I went out, I heard muffled screams. I went to see if someone needed help, and then I saw two guys trying to rip the dress of a girl off. I stopped them, and they ran off after a short fight. I was pretty surprised to find out that the girl they had attacked was Bonnie, but imagine my surprise when she told me that those guys were her sister's boyfriends!"

Another long pause followed.

Lonnie looked shocked beyond words and just slowly shook her head as if in denial, while Connie just stared at him in open-mouthed shock.

But Ron wasn't finished. "To top it off, Bonnie refused to come home, because she was afraid you two wouldn't believe her and would tell her it was all her fault." His voice almost cracked with suppressed rage.

At this point, Connie had to sit down, covering her mouth with her hands and shaking.

Lonnie, who had backed away all the time Ron was speaking, bolted from the room in tears.

Ron's cold gaze turned into a very sad one, and he continued very quietly. "I don't know if you really hate Bonnie as much as she claims you do, but…"

Connie raised her hand to stop him, and he fell silent immediately. With a shaking hand, she got out her wallet. She opened it, took out a picture with great difficulty and handed it to Ron, who looked at it. It showed Connie and Lonnie with their boyfriends. "Is… is that…?" Connie didn't finish the question, but Ron was already nodding.

"Yes, they are the guys. I'm sorry."

Tears were rolling down her cheeks, when she looked at him pleadingly. "Are you sure? Really sure?" She seemed to beg him to deny it was them, but Ron could only nod again.

"I'm absolutely sure. They were pretty drunk, but it was them. I can give you a description of the clothes they were wearing if you want."

Connie buried her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably, and seemed to curl into herself.

Ron put the picture on a nearby table. He had said what he needed to say, and his rage had cooled off a bit; now he didn't really know what to do. Should he stay here or go and look after Bonnie? He was brought out of his musings when Connie suddenly jumped up from her chair with a furious look on her face. "Those bastards! When I get my hands on them, I'll…" The burst of energy was short-lived, however, for she sank down to the floor, crying even more than before.

Ron took a step toward her, when she raised her head. Her eyes were red and swollen, but the tears still kept coming. "I… I thought I knew him! I thought I loved him! How could he…?" She didn't manage to finish the sentence.

Suddenly, Ron knew exactly what to do. He kneeled down beside the distressed girl, helped her to her feet, and led her gently into the living-room. There, he sat her down on the sofa. "Don't think about that now. Your sisters need you." He didn't know why he said it, but it had the desired effect. Connie tried to pull herself together.

"Yes, yes, you're right. I have to talk to Lonnie and…" Her eyes widened in horror. "Oh my God! No, I can't face Bonnie! Not after all that happened!" Her entire body was shaking now.

Ron looked at her closely. "You don't really hate her, do you?"

She looked at him with a mixture of shock, horror and outrage. "No! Of course not! I mean…" She hiccupped. "How can you say that!"

Ron looked at her sadly. "I don't. She thinks you hate her. She was afraid to come here because of you and Lonnie."

Connie stared at him, and he could see how the realization of what he had said hit her. She didn't move or say anything, but he could see it in her eyes. The proud girl broke down right in front of him without ever moving a muscle.

After a very long moment, she finally found her voice and continued very quietly and emotionally. "We've been horrible to her... all this time… No wonder she thinks we hate her…" Suddenly, she stood up.

Ron could see she was still shaking, but he noticed that she tried to steel herself.

"I have to talk to Bonnie." Her voice sounded insecure, but determined at the same time.

Ron stood up as well and accompanied her upstairs to Bonnie's room.

Connie raised her hand several times to knock at the door, but she hesitated every time before she could bring herself to do it.

Ron carefully touched her forearm. "I'll do it, okay?"

She just nodded, taking deep breaths and trying to stop the tears that were still coming.

He knocked at the door and opened it when he heard a tear-stained voice answer, "yes?"

Bonnie was lying on her bed with Tara sitting at her side.

Ron entered. "Bonnie, your sister would like to talk to you."

Before anyone could say a word, Lonnie came into the room. Tara immediately rose. "I'll talk to you later, Bonnie", she whispered.

"We'll leave you two alone. Come, Tara", Ron added. After the platinum blonde had left, Ron closed the door and exhaled. He went down the stairs with Tara in silence, but finally asked. "So, what now? Do we wait in the living room, or do you think we should just leave?"

Tara smiled a tiny smile. "I think we'd better wait in the living room, at least for a while."

"Right. Hey, there should be some cartoon on the TV now!" he exclaimed brightly.

Tara had to giggle. It was astounding how Ron could be deadly serious and then change back to his laid-back, goofy self in a matter of seconds. At that moment, Tara realized something about the blonde boy. Ron always seemed to be the most relaxed and care-free person in the world, but the way he acted when Bonnie needed his help… She sighed dreamily, the image of a knight in shining armour somehow popping up in her mind, while the boy in question plopped down onto the sofa and grabbed the remote that was lying on a small table beside it.

"You coming?" he asked over his shoulder.

Tara blushed, hoping that he hadn't noticed her gaze, and sat down on the sofa beside him.

"I hope you don't mind watching the Roadrunner?" Ron asked in a hopeful voice.

Tara knew that he wanted to see the cartoon, but she was sure that he would switch the channel if she wanted to watch something else. This made him even more endearing to her. She smiled warmly at him. "No, I don't mind watching it."

Ron was visibly relieved. "Thanks, Tara, you're the best!"

She blushed again, and this time, Ron noticed. "You ok?" he asked, now turning his attention fully on her with a worried gaze.

This made Tara blush even more, and she tried to concentrate on the screen, where a bue bird was mocking a coyote by sticking his tongue out. "Yeah, I'm fine. How do you think things are going upstairs?" It was quite an obvious attempt to change the topic, but to Tara's relief, Ron didn't seem to notice.

"Hmm, not sure, but I hope they can talk things over… At least they didn't start breaking stuff yet. I'm pretty sure we would've heard that."

Tara almost giggled. "I guess you're right." She then turned serious again. "You know that it's all thanks to you that they are talking now, don't you?"

He seemed surprised at that. "What? Nah, I didn't do all that much."

"Why do you keep saying that?" Tara asked.

Ron shrugged. "Well, it's the truth. I just came over with you."

Tara's eyes widened a little in dawning comprehension. "You really don't know what you did, do you?" She had thought Ron was just being modest, but obviously he really thought that he didn't do much. And he thought that because it was the most natural thing in the world for him to just be there for someone else and talk. He had to be the kindest and sweetest guy in the world!

Her question made him rather nervous. "What did I do? I didn't mess things up, did I?"

"No," she answered calmly with a slight grin on her face. "You didn't mess things up, Ron." 'But you're really cute when you're all nervous,' she added in her thoughts, her grin widening.

Ron wiped his forehead. "Phew. For a second there, you had me worried. You know, I screw up so often, I sometimes don't even notice it anymore."

Tara put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, Ron. I didn't want to scare you."

"Ha ha. Scare me? Nah, you didn't. I mean, monkeys scare me, Camp Wannaweep scares me, little insects that crawl all over me scare me… well, err… quite a lot of things scare me, actually, but cheerleaders don't."

She smiled warmly at him. "That's good to know."

"That I'm afraid of almost anything?" he joked.

"That you're not afraid of me." With that, she turned back to the cartoon.

Ron seemed to consider what she'd said for a moment, but finally turned his attention back to Wile E. Coyote's latest attempt at capturing the Roadrunner as well. Soon, he was completely into the show, laughing about the pair's antics, and missing the dreamy look Tara got whenever she glanced over at him.


	6. Seeing the true Ron

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

First of all, again many many thanks for your reviews! I was very relieved to see that most of you seem to have enjoyed what I did with the characters in the last chapter. I wasn't sure you'd agree with my take on Connie (and we haven't seen much of Lonnie yet). Now this chapter proved to be a bit tricky to write, so let's see how you like it.

As always: Enjoy the chapter, and feedback is of course still highly appreciated!

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Tara smiled. Almost three hours had passed since she had come downstairs with Ron. After the Roadrunner, Ron had given Tara the remote. "I've watched what I wanted, not it's your turn," he had said. Tara had blushed furiously, because she had secretly watched what she wanted most of the time, too, but of course she couldn't say that. At lunch time, they had decided to order something for lunch and continue waiting. The pizzas had been very good, but soon after lunch, Ron had fallen asleep on the sofa. That had been half an hour ago. After making sure the blond boy was asleep, Tara had leaned against his shoulder with a content smile on her face.

Now, she sat up straight quickly when she heard someone come downstairs. Ron seemed to notice it, too, because he woke up and yawned.

A moment later, Bonnie appeared in the living room. She had red, puffy eyes, but seemed relieved somehow.

"Hey, you're still here?" Bonnie asked with a small smile.

Tara rose from the sofa. "Of course, Bonnie. We wanted to see how you were doing. So… how are you doing?" she asked cautiously.

Bonnie gave sort of a half shrug. "We talked about a lot of things. It helped. We still have much to sort out, but it was a start." She looked at the table. "Is that pizza I see?"

Ron nodded with his usual goofy grin. "We ordered a couple for lunch. Yours is cold now, but if you heat it up, it should be fine."

Bonnie gave a grateful smile. "I'm starving. Tara, could you go upstairs and ask Connie if she wants some pizza, too?"

The blonde girl nodded and bounced up the stairs. When she returned with Connie's answer (she wasn't hungry), Bonnie was already heating the pizzas up in the oven. A few minutes later, the three of them sat in the living room again and ate in silence.

After they'd finished, Tara helped Bonnie putting the dishes in the dish-washer while Ron remained on the sofa. "Bonnie, is there anything I can do?" the blonde girl asked.

Bonnie shook her head. "No, Tara, but thanks for asking." She hugged her friend. "Thanks for everything."

Tara returned the hug. "You're welcome, but I think it's Ron you should be thanking."

Bonnie broke the hug and looked down. "I know," she whispered.

Tara just smiled. "He's a great guy."

Bonnie still didn't look up. "I... I guess so."

Tara looked at her watch and gasped. "It's four already! Oh my gosh! I have to hurry! My parents will be home soon, and I haven't finished my homework!" She was about to turn, when she stopped. "Bonnie, is it ok if I go home? I mean…"

Bonnie gave her a small smile. "Of course, Tara. I need some time alone now anyway, you know?"

The platinum blonde nodded. "Okay, but if you need something…"

"I'll call. Don't worry," Bonnie reassured her.

Tara nodded and went back into the living room. "Ron, I'll leave now."

Ron came over immediately. "Oh, ok, Tara. I guess I'll head home, too."

Bonnie, who had followed Tara, cleared her throat a little. "Um, Ron? Can I talk to you for a moment before you leave?"

He looked nonplussed. "Err, of course, Bonnie." He turned to Tara. "Well, bye then. I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Tara smiled and, blushing, gave him a quick hug. "See you tomorrow, Ron." She then hugged Bonnie. "Bye, Bonnie."

"See you," the brunette replied.

When Tara had left, Bonnie and Ron went back into the living room, where the brunette sat down on the sofa. Ron sat down on the other end and waited for her to say something.

Whatever he might have expected, the question she asked caught him off guard.

"Alright, what do you want?"

Bonnie bit her lower lip; she hadn't meant for it to sound so harsh.

Ron blinked once, then for a second time, before he finally managed a reply: "Huh?"

Bonnie sighed. "You helped me, Stoppable, and I'm sure there's something you want in return, so what is it?"

Ron scratched his head. "Err, Bonnie, what are you talking about? I helped you because you were in trouble."

He seemed honestly confused, and Bonnie felt fresh tears building up. "Really?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"Sure. What other reason could I have to…?" He paused, and his eyes narrowed. "You think I helped you to get something out of it?"

He sounded a bit angry, but mostly hurt, and Bonnie broke down in tears. "I'm sorry, Ron… I just… Why would you help me? I've been nothing but horrible to you. You have every reason to hate me… I just don't understand…"

He took a deep breath to calm down before he answered. "I don't hate you, Bonnie. I mean, I don't like how you always try to put down KP, but…"

"But I've always treated you like dirt! You… you…"

"You think I hate you because you called me names? Come on, Bonnie… I have an arch-foe who tries to kill me because he wants some mystical power. The villains Kim and I fight don't even remember my name, because I'm just the buffoon. I've been beaten up by bullies and henchmen more often than I care to remember. Do you really think I even notice your put-downs any more?"

She couldn't believe what she had just heard. "You mean you're so used to it that you don't notice it any more?"

Ron gave a half-shrug. "More or less." When he saw her shocked expression, he continued. "Hey, it isn't as bad as it sounds. The bullies have pretty much left me alone since KP had a word with them." He chuckled at the memory before turning serious again. "And I would never let KP face the villains alone. She's my best friend, and if she got hurt because I wasn't there…" He shook his head before smiling brightly. "And it's not like we don't have any fun, you know. And it feels good to help other people, too. I mean, sure, KP does most of the help part, but still."

Bonnie could only stare.

"Um, Bonnie, are you ok? You look a little…"

He was cut off when Bonnie launched herself at him and hugged him. "I'm so sorry," she sobbed.

He returned the hug tentatively. "It's ok, Bonnie. No harm done." He wasn't quite sure what she was sorry for, but he didn't want to see her cry, so he tried to comfort her.

"It's not okay," came her muffled response. Letting go of him, she continued, "but it will be." Her voice sounded somewhat determined now.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"You'll see," she answered with a small smile. "But I… I have a favour to ask."

"What is it?"

"Please don't tell anyone what happened on Friday. I… I don't want people to know." She looked at him with big, pleading eyes.

"I guess that includes Kim?"

Bonnie nodded. "Please…"

Ron sighed. "Alright, I promise I won't tell anyone."

She smiled. "Thanks, Ron."

"Don't mention it." He looked at his watch. "Well, I should be heading home. Will you be ok?"

She nodded. "Yes."

They walked to the door, where Bonnie hugged Ron again. "Thanks Ron…"

He just gave his goofy grin. "Hey, that's what I'm here for… you know, saving the day, rescuing people, procrastinating in doing my homework…" he joked.

She couldn't help but giggle at that. "Well, thanks anyway. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Bon-Bon."

After Ron had left, Bonnie went back into the living room. She still could hardly believe it. How did Ron manage to keep this care-free, laid-back, and friendly disposition after all he'd been put through? People had ridiculed or ignored him, and he had been beaten up many times. He had to be one of the strongest guys she knew to come out of all this unfazed. Ok, so he was a bit weird, lacked any fashion sense whatsoever, kept a rodent in his pocket and what not, but today, she had seen the great friend Ron could be when given the chance. 'That must be why Kim's still his best friend,' she thought. 'She's really lucky to have someone like him… and to think she's had him all her life. No wonder she can supposedly do anything.' She buried her face in her hands. For the first time that she could remember, a guy did something for her without wanting anything in return, and with said guy being Ron, she felt that she didn't deserve it. She remembered all the times she had put him down one way or another, had made fun of him and had ridiculed him. She also remembered that he had hardly ever replied to her insults. She had always thought he just didn't have an answer to her remarks, but now she realized that it just wasn't in him to be mean. He would never stomp on anyone, no matter how much they might deserve it. "Some friend you got there," Connie had said about him with a teary smile. It had been the first time in years that Bonnie had completely agreed with her sister.

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AN, part 2: I'll be on vacation for two weeks now, but I will update as soon as possible after that! But at least I did not finish this chapter with a mean cliffhanger. ;)


	7. Blonde reflections

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Back from the vacation! Thanks for all the kind reviews I got while I was away! This is a very short chapter, but I promise the next one will be much longer! Enjoy!

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When Ron arrived at home, he was deep in thought. This in itself was a rather unusual occurrence, because he seldom saw a reason for extensive thinking. This weekend, however, proved to be an exception. Much had happened, and he was still trying to wrap his mind around everything. He had hardly recognized Bonnie today; she had been outright nice to him. Not that he minded, but he wondered if it would last… 'Probably not,' he mused. 'When we're back at school, she'll be back to her old self.' He sighed. Somehow, it had been nice not to be the object of her scorn, if only for a short while. Then there was Tara. The bubbly blonde had always been friendly, but the way she had acted this weekend… He still remembered the wonderful sensation he had felt when she had kissed him on the cheek. Was there a chance that she liked him liked him? He entered his room, cursing his inability to figure out girls. "Hey Rufus!" he greeted his little buddy.

The naked mole rat smiled happily at seeing Ron. "Hi!"

The blonde boy sat down on his bed. "Rufus, you won't believe what happened today."

The pink rodent looked at him expectantly.

"Bonnie was nice to me."

"Huh?" Rufus looked seriously confused now.

Ron had to chuckle at that. "Well, I helped her on Friday after the party." He then told his buddy everything that had happened, including his thoughts about Tara, and Rufus listened with rapt attention. After he had finished, Ron slumped back. "So I'm confused now. What do you think?"

Rufus merely shrugged. "Dunno."

Ron sighed. "A lot of help you are. But thanks for listening, buddy. You know, I think I'll just wait and see what happens tomorrow. I wish I could talk to KP about all this…"

Rufus picked up the telephone. "Call!"

Ron shook his head. "I can't, Rufus. I promised Bonnie I wouldn't tell anyone about Friday night." He groaned. "I really shouldn't have promised that. I'm so not good at keeping secrets!"

Rufus sighed. "Poor boy."

At that moment, Ron's phone rang. With another sigh, Ron picked it up. "Hey KP!"

"Hi Ron," the voice of his best friend greeted him. "We're finally back! Traffic was really heavy! Joss says hi! She still got all the posters of you." He could hear her giggle and had to smile himself. Ever since he had been at Slim Possible's ranch with Kim, her brothers and her father, Joss had idolised him. Kim's voice brought him back from his thoughts. "Anyway, how was your weekend? And how was the big party?"

Ron steeled himself. He always found it very hard to lie, especially to Kim. "Oh, same old, same old. The party wasn't that great, so I left pretty early. Monique should be able to tell you a lot about the party though; when I left, she was chatting with some guy…"

Kim squealed. "Really? Oh, I have to call her!"

Ron grinned. Kim hadn't noticed that he'd bent the truth a bit. "Well, before you do that, you wanna hear something that'll make you proud of the Ronster?"

"What's that?"

"Weeeeell, guess who did all his homework yesterday?"

"Oh, Ron, that's great!"

"Yes, yes, that's me," he replied smugly.

"In that case, why don't you come over early tomorrow, so we can compare our Latin homework? You know I'm still having trouble with all the declinations…"

Ron gulped. "Latin homework? There was a Latin homework?"

Kim laughed. "Yes, there was, potential boy! Quite a lot, too!"

"Aww, man! I thought I had everything done!" Ron complained.

"Well, seems like you've got something to do now, so I'll leave you to Latin and call Monique." The mirth still hadn't left Kim's voice.

"All right. See you tomorrow, KP!"

"See you, Ron!"

The line went dead, and Ron put the phone on the nightstand. He then walked to his desk and put out his Latin book. He was not exactly talented when it came to the Roman language, but he still tried to master it, so that he could help Kim with it.

Ron, however, was not the only one who was occupied with his homework. Tara had been sitting at her desk ever since she'd returned home. She should have been finished with her homework by now, but she was too distracted to really focus on her essays. Every few minutes, her thoughts drifted to a certain blonde boy, and she sighed. She wondered if Ron liked her at all. She thought she'd been pretty obvious in her approach, but then, Ron was not like most other boys and perhaps hadn't realized her feelings yet. That didn't answer the question whether he would even want to date her, though. The platinum blonde cheerleader put her pen down in frustration. At this rate, she would never get her homework done. After a few more minutes of silent pondering, she reached a conclusion: She would take a very direct approach tomorrow. If Ron didn't like her, at least she'd know, and she was sure that he would at least let her down easily. The boy just didn't have a mean streak in him. And if he liked her… really liked her… She smiled dreamily. It could be so perfect! Okay, so perhaps a few people would make fun of her for dating someone as low on the food chain as Ron Stoppable, but she thought that would be a small price to pay. At least Bonnie, her best friend, would stick by her side! Or would she? Tara banished the doubts that tried to creep into her thoughts quickly. Of course Bonnie would! After all, she had seen herself what a great guy Ron was!

The matter being resolved, she finally returned to her homework, but it still took her quite some time to get everything finished, and when she went to bed at last, it was well past midnight.


	8. Back to school

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

First of all, my apologies for the delay! I was away on a business trip last week, and I didn't manage to finish the new chapter before that. I'd also like to thank you for all the kind reviews I received for the last chapter! It's really great to see that people generally seem to like where I'm going with this! The one question that has popped up a couple of times now (what about the police) will be answered later on; it's not forgotten!

And now I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter! It's pretty short, I know, but I wanted to finally update, and it was such a nice moment to have a break, so bear with me! The next update shouldn't take as long as this one did. Anyway, let Monday begin!

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It was a nice and bright Monday morning. Ron Stoppable was walking over to the house of his best friend, Kim Possible, but his disposition wasn't quite as sunny as the day's. On the one hand, his curious side was looking forward to school, but on the other hand, his fearful side was dreading it. He didn't know what to expect, and the fact that he had to keep a secret from Kim didn't help things in the least. But then again, he reminded himself, he had managed to keep Yamanouchi's secret until the day that Yori allowed him to tell Kim about it. He could do it! After all, Bonnie would probably skin him alive if he couldn't. So despite his nervousness, he tried to be as upbeat as always when he finally reached the Possible home and entered. "Good morning, Possible clan! How are you on this bon-diggity morning?"

The Dr.'s Possible and the twins greeted him and returned to their breakfast, while Kim got out her Latin stuff. "Hey, potential boy! So, did you manage to finish Latin yesterday?"

Ron smiled and took a seat beside her. "Of course, KP!"

"Ron, would you like some breakfast?" Mrs. Dr. Possible inquired.

"Thanks, Mrs. Dr. P; that would be awesome!" Ron replied happily.

"Uh-huh, awesome!" chirped Rufus, who had climbed out of Ron's pocket when he heard the word breakfast spoken.

"Focus, Ron," Kim chided playfully. "How did you translate that Latin proverb?"

"Which one?"

"There was only one, Ron. Amicus verus cognoscitur amore, more, ore, re."

Ron got out his translation while Mrs. Possible put down a plate with breakfast near him on the table. "Thanks, Mrs. Dr. P!"

"You're welcome, Ron." Kim's mother smiled and went back to her own breakfast, while Ron searched for the sentence that Kim had asked about.

"Ah, here it is! Err, a true friend is recognized by his love, his behaviour, his mouth and his deed."

Kim's smile brightened. "I've got the same!"

Ron scratched his head while chewing on some of the breakfast Kim's mother had put in front of him. "Yeah, but how can I recognize a friend by his mouth?"

Kim giggled. "It's not meant literally, Ron. I think it means that you recognize a true friend by the things he says."

"Oh… well… that makes sense, KP," Ron answered uncomfortably.

"You ok, Ron?" Kim asked, noticing his discomfort.

Ron perked up at the question. "What? Me? Ha ha! Of course, KP! I mean, why wouldn't I be? Ha ha!" As if to prove his point, he took an extra large bite of his toast.

Kim looked at him suspiciously for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, we'd better head off to school. We don't want to be late first thing in the morning!"

Ron sighed and wolfed down the last bit of his breakfast. "Coming, KP!"

On the way to school, Kim told Ron every detail about her visit to her uncle's ranch. "You should've come with us, Ron. Tornado missed you," she finished her tale, winking.

Ron gulped. "Don't remind me of the robotic horses, KP!"

She just laughed. "Well, others missed you, too," she said in a suggestive tone, grinning from ear to ear.

"I know, I know… Go ahead and laugh, but I still say that Joss is a smart girl."

They had finally arrived at school, and Kim was about to reply something, when they were greeted by Tara, who rushed over to them. "Hi Kim, hi Ron!"

"Hi Tara," Kim answered with a slightly puzzled look, while Ron greeted the cheerleader with one of his usual grins. It wasn't uncommon for Tara to greet them, but the platinum blonde had pretty much run to them just to say hello. She also noticed that Tara seemed to give Ron an admiring look, and she narrowed her eyes subconsciously. "How was your weekend?"

Tara seemed slightly nervous when she answered. "Oh, pretty nice. The party was cool, Kim; you should've been there!"

"Yeah, Ron and Monique told me about it." She glanced at her watch. "We should hurry, or we'll be late! Talk to you later?"

Tara nodded. "Sure!"

She seemed unwilling to leave, and Kim wondered what was going on. However, she didn't have much time to ponder the matter: When she and Ron reached their respective lockers, Bonnie passed. The brunette shot Kim a condescending look and greeted her with a cold "K", as she always did.

"Hello Bonnie," Kim replied in just as icy a voice.

Bonnie then passed Ron, who was looking for something in his locker and hadn't heard the exchange between the two rivals. "Hey, KP, do you know where I put that English book? I can't…" Turning his head, he broke off when he saw Bonnie. "Oh, hi Bonnie."

"Hi," Bonnie said almost in a whisper, but it was obvious everyone had heard her, for the entire student body fell silent and stared at her. Ron didn't seem to notice that and turned back to Kim to ask her whether she had seen his book, but Bonnie was very much aware of the looks she got from everyone. "What?!" she snapped, and everyone quickly looked away, hoping not to incur the brunette's wrath. Bonnie proceeded towards her locker, positively fuming.

Kim still stood in front of her locker with a mixture of shock, denial, surprise and wonder on her face. She had heard Bonnie saying hi to Ron, but she couldn't believe it. The brunette would never willingly talk to Ron, except to insult him! What was going on? What had she missed? First Tara had hurried to them to say hello, and now Bonnie, Middleton High's very own Queen Bee, had greeted Ron!

"Kim?" Ron asked. "Hey, KP!"

She finally snapped out of her thoughts. "Sorry, Ron, what?"

"Are you ok? I asked you if you know where I put my book."

"No, I don't. Ron, did Bonnie just say hi to you?"

He shrugged. "I guess so, KP. Damn, where could that stupid book be?" He turned back to his locker for another search.

Kim's voice still did nothing to hide her surprise. "Why would she do that?"

Ron stopped from rummaging in his locker. "Is it really so surprising that someone would wish me a good morning?"

"If it's Bonnie we're talking about, yes!" Kim answered immediately. "She must be up to something…"

Ron sighed. "Perhaps she just lost a bet or something." He returned to his locker once more, this time finally finding the book behind an old Bueno Nacho bag. "Ha! There it is! I knew it had to be in here." He closed the door of his locker. "Come on, KP! You don't wanna be late for Mr. B, do you?" he teased.

Kim walked beside him, deep in thought. Maybe Ron was right for once, and Bonnie had indeed lost a bet. Still, the red-head couldn't quite believe this. She would get to the bottom of this! After all, she could do anything, so finding out what was going on with Bonnie Rockwaller should be no big, now, should it?


	9. Blowup at lunch

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Alright, a very quick update this time! Once again, many thanks for your wonderful reviews! I can hardly believe I really cracked the 100 reviews! You guys are the best! I just hope I can keep you hooked... Rising expectations is one thing, fulfilling them quite another... But enough with my worries! Enjoy the new chapter!

And now, on with the show...

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The first few lessons passed, but Kim had a hard time paying attention to what the teachers said; too many thoughts and musings kept distracting her. Out of the corner of her eye, she kept an eye on Bonnie, Tara and Ron whenever she could. Her best friend obviously tried to act like he didn't know what was going on, but she could see that he knew something. Ron had never been good at keeping secrets or hiding anything from her, and she would find out what he was trying to keep from her. Kim had quickly concluded that it had to have something to do with Tara and Bonnie. The platinum blonde kept stealing glances at Ron, glances that Kim didn't like at all. She knew Tara used to have a crush on Ron after he saved all the cheerleaders from being mutated by Gill at Camp Wannaweep, but she thought this crush had passed, especially since Tara had started dating Josh Mankey. And then there was the fact that Bonnie had talked to Ron. It had only been a greeting, nothing more than the word "hi", but it wasn't like Bonnie to greet someone she considered a loser and a social outcast. What could have happened? Kim couldn't believe Ron's suggestion of a lost bet… There had to be more to it than that, and she would find out! She gritted her teeth. Only a few more minutes, then the lesson would end, and the lunch-break would begin. That would be her chance! In the cafeteria, she'd be able to talk to Ron and Tara respectively. Bonnie, however, was a different matter… Kim didn't like the idea of having to talk to her brunette rival, especially since Bonnie had been in a very grumpy mood all morning. No one had dared to approach Middleton's Ice Queen this morning; even the teachers had wisely refrained from calling upon her in class. So Kim decided to talk to her blonde friends first.

The bell rang, thus signalling the end of the lesson and the beginning of the lunch-break.

Kim would probably never find out how he managed to do it, but Ron achieved what most internationally feared villains couldn't: He escaped Kim Possible. Tara, on the other hand, wasn't as fortunate.

"Hey, Tara! Can I talk to you for a second?" Kim had put on her sweetest smile, which only served to increase Tara's discomfort.

"Err, sure, Kim, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing much… I just have a short question for you…" Kim replied. "What in the world is going on here?"

Tara gulped. "What do you mean?"

"Oh please! Don't play dumb, okay? Something's happened… something between Bonnie, Ron and you… What is it?"

Tara swallowed again, but raised her head defiantly. "Nothing's happened..." She continued under Kim's withering gaze. "I just… I just noticed something about Ron…"

Kim's eyes narrowed dangerously. "And what is that?"

Tara felt as if her knees would soon stop supporting her weight, but she didn't falter, despite the discomfort she felt, and answered almost defiantly. "I noticed what a sweet, caring and cute guy Ron is."

Kim's jaw dropped to the ground.

Tara took a deep breath. "And… And I asked Bonnie to stop it with the put-downs. He deserves better than that."

Kim laughed humourlessly. "And Bonnie agreed to that?"

"She's my best friend; why wouldn't she do me a little favour?" Tara asked with rising self-confidence.

The red-head shook her head. "Sorry, Tara, but I find it hard to believe that Bonnie would lay off of one of her favourite past-times just like that. But never mind that. Are you crushing on Ron again?"

Tara's new-found self-confidence left her as quickly as it had come. "Well… I… He's… I mean…"

Kim leaned forward; her nose was almost touching Tara's. "Yes?"

Tara gulped again, but held Kim's icy gaze. "So… So what if I am?"

Kim smiled a false, sweet smile that sent chills down Tara's spine and answered in a very calm, almost friendly voice. "Nothing, Tara. But let me warn you: If you do something that hurts Ron… anything at all… you'll have to answer to me. Ron is my best friend, and I will not allow anyone to hurt him over some silly crush. Are we clear?"

Tara's forehead was sweaty, and her legs were positively shaking now, but she nodded. "Crystal," she answered in a tiny voice.

Kim nodded, that horrible smile never leaving her face. "Spankin'! See you later, Tara."

With that, she left the bubbly blonde and turned towards the cafeteria.

Tara thought her heart would jump right out of her chest. She had never felt so threatened in her entire life! But then, indignation welled up inside her. Some silly crush? Hurt Ron? She'd never do that! She took a few deep breaths to collect herself. She'd always known that Kim and Ron were very close; that was one of the reasons why she hadn't pursued her crush on him after Camp Wannaweep: She hadn't been sure how Kim would react and didn't want to get on her bad side. Bonnie and her other friends had been another reason back then, always ridiculing Ron and everything he did. Tara squared her shoulders defiantly. 'Not this time!' With that thought, she turned to get some lunch (and perhaps a seat close to Ron).

Ron had managed to enter the cafeteria and get some food (if you could call the grey blob on his plate food) without running into Kim. 'Perhaps that ninja training paid off after all,' Ron thought, taking a seat. He shared his meal with Rufus, who had woken up when the lunch-bell rang. He knew Kim would corner him sooner or later, but he definitely preferred later. Looking around, he saw that Bonnie seemed to be arguing with her posse at her table. 'She probably has to justify herself for greeting me this morning,' he thought sadly. He had never cared much about the food chain, but he wasn't ignorant of its existence, and when he saw what a hard time Bonnie was having because of it, he wished he were more popular if only for her sake. He sighed. There was nothing he could do about it.

He finished his lunch and put Rufus back in his pocket. When he had just returned his plate, he saw Kim enter the cafeteria. He gulped; she would certainly try to interrogate him; that much was clear from her look and her body language. He turned to leave the cafeteria through the other door, but he had to pass Bonnie's table to get to that door.

"Hey, loser!" Bonnie's voice rang out aggressively when he passed the table she and her posse occupied.

He stopped. "Err… yes, Bonnie?" he asked nervously. He could see Kim approaching and wanted to make a quick escape.

Bonnie, however, seemed to have other plans. She rose from her seat and strutted over to him. "I've had a pretty lousy day, Stoppable. Do you know why?"

He shrugged helplessly. "No, why?" His eyes still darted to the approaching form of Kim, while the entire room seemed to hush.

"I've been asked whether you had me under mind control, whether I've lost a bet or whether I've gone completely mad and am crushing on you! Can you imagine that?"

"Well…" he started, but Bonnie continued, not giving him a chance to say something.

"And why has all that happened? Right! Because you're such a loser! No, scratch that! Even I wouldn't insult the losers that much, 'cause, you know, losers are low on the food chain! You're not even on it!" With that, she grabbed her plate. "See that? I didn't eat any lunch! You know why?" Again, she continued before Ron could reply. "Because you make me sick! But since you and your disgusting pink rat seem to be hungry all day anyway, why don't you take it?" And with that, she emptied her plate over Ron's head.

The blonde was so surprised that he could only stand there while Bonnie's lunch ran down his head and upper body, soaking his hair and Jersey.

Everyone else watched in silence as Bonnie turned on her heel and stormed out of the cafeteria.

Ron just stood there, blinking and unable to form any kind of response to what had just happened.

Kim had stopped her approach when Bonnie dumped her lunch on Ron and just stared, completely dumbfounded.

It was Felix who directed his wheelchair to Ron's side and thus broke the silence. "Come on, Ron, let's get you cleaned up." He calmly took his friend by the arm and stirred him towards the exit.

Since the commotion seemed to be over, everyone resumed their lunch and their chats, although Ron still received quite a few looks on his way out.

Felix and Ron had just reached the door, when Tara entered the cafeteria. Her eyes widened on seeing the two friends. "Ron! What… what happened?"

Ron just shook his head, still unable to speak, and Felix answered for him. "Bonnie happened. She screamed at Ron and dumped her lunch on him."

Tara's hand automatically went to her mouth. "Oh my… I'm so sorry, Ron."

Ron finally found his voice. "Don't worry, Tara, I'm alright," he said shakily. "If you'll excuse me…" He pointed towards the door.

She nodded. "Of course…" She watched as Felix and Ron left. When they were out, her eyes narrowed. Tara usually had a very sunny disposition and seldom got angry, but those who saw her now couldn't describe her mood as anything but angry; in fact, the term furious seemed more appropriate for the state she was in. She stomped out in search for Bonnie without another word.

Kim, who had witnessed the short exchange between the three, decided to follow Tara. There was nothing she could do for Ron at the moment, as she couldn't well enter the boys' lavatory, and judging from her expression, the blonde would go after Bonnie now. That was just fine, as Kim had quite a few things to tell the brunette herself.

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Okay, you may let me have it now. However, I can promise that I'll explain Bonnie's behaviour in the following chapter and thus hopefully redeem myself.


	10. Tara unleashed

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Alright, first of all many, many thanks for the kind and extensive(!) reviews I received! For some reason, the reply function doesn't work (I tried, but I don't think anyone received mail, or am I mistaken?), but the assumptions how the story could go on were pretty good, as you'll see now. This chapter will also answer a few questions that have come up, and it might surprise you a little, but hopefully in a positive way. So, enjoy the longest chapter so far, and please keep the reviews coming!

On we happily go!

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Bonnie Rockwaller stood in the girls' lavatory in front of the mirrors, staring intently at her reflection in the glass. It took all her strength and self-discipline not to break down and cry, but she felt she was losing this fight against herself despite her best efforts not to. She was Middleton High's undisputed ice queen, and yet Ron Stoppable had broken through all her barriers in just a few days. That was when everything had begun to go wrong. He had helped her; no, he had saved her! All she had wanted to do was to pay him back by being civil and stop putting him down, and where had it landed her! She had been faced with the ugly side of the very structure she had helped to erect and to keep intact: the food chain. And the food chain never took kindly to people who wanted to undermine it.

Bonnie would have cursed, but she knew she'd break down if she opened her mouth; all she could do at the moment was keeping her gaze fixed on the mirror and thus herself. The irony of the situation was not lost on her: Her entire attention had always been directed solely at herself, her image and her status. She felt new tears well up, but she forced them back.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Tara entered the room. Bonnie turned to her best friend and immediately wished she hadn't. Tara was fuming. The brunette had never seen her so angry, and it frightened her a little. "Tara…" she started but was cut off by the furious blonde.

"How could you? How could you do that? He saved you! He helped you when he was the last person you could expect help from! The last person you had any right to expect help from! He took you home and stood up against you sisters! He was willing to be your friend despite everything that you've done to him! He never asked for anything in return, and if it was so embarrassing for you to be seen talking to him, you could've just ignored him! He wouldn't have minded, even though he would've had every reason to do so! Do you have any idea how… how…?" Tara couldn't continue; she was just too angry, and no more words would come out.

Bonnie looked at her, wide-eyed. Tara had never talked to her (or rather screamed at her) like this, but that wasn't what shocked the brunette. The shocking thing was: Tara was right. "Tara, I…" she began, but was once again cut off as the blonde slapped her across the face, hard. Bonnie raised a hand to her stinging cheek, her tears flowing freely now, when she heard Tara utter a sentence she would never forget in her entire life: "You disgust me." Tara had spoken coldly and quietly, but Bonnie felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She sank to her knees, her arms wrapped around her body, while Tara turned and left the room without another word.

Tara didn't notice the red-head who stood just outside the lavatory when she stormed past.

Kim had heard everything, and now she was torn. She had received some interesting pieces of news, and while she didn't know what exactly Ron had done, she understood it had to be something really big. She wanted to go and talk to him right now, but she could also hear Bonnie, who was still crying inside, and the world-saving part in her couldn't just leave her alone in a situation like this. She sighed and entered the lavatory.

Bonnie raised her head, hoping that perhaps Tara had returned, but all she saw was her long-time rival, the last person she wanted to see right now. She didn't even try to compose herself. "Not you… not now… go away…"

Kim didn't say anything; she just handed Bonnie a tissue.

The brunette actually took it and blew her nose. She was still shaking, but she seemed to calm down a bit.

"Feeling any better?" Kim asked.

"What do you care, Possible. Shouldn't you be chewing me out for hurting your lapdog?" She tried to sound venomous, but she failed quite miserably.

"Ron's not my lapdog, and I think Tara already did my job for me, Bonnie," Kim answered calmly.

"You… you heard?"

"Everything," Kim confirmed. "Bonnie, what happened this weekend?"

Bonnie seemed surprised. "He… he didn't tell you?"

"Ron? No, he didn't. I noticed that something was up, but he wouldn't tell me what. It must be pretty big, cause normally Ron can't keep a secret to save his life, especially not from me."

Bonnie's shoulders slumped down a bit, and she spoke in a tiny voice. "Well, you heard Tara… he saved me."

Kim nodded. "But from what, Bonnie? What happened?"

The brunette finally found the strength to rise from the floor. "Why do you want to know? Why's that important? You know more than you're supposed to already…"

Kim sighed. "Why is it such a terrible secret? I mean, what's the problem? Ron's saved my life a lot of times…"

Bonnie seemed surprised by this. "He has?"

Kim looked at her as if she'd grown a second hand. "Of course! What do you think he does on missions? Ron always has my back, and I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."

Bonnie shook her head incredulously. "But… he's just your sidekick. You're the one who claims she can do anything."

Kim sighed. "It's just a catchphrase, Bonnie. I mean, I do have a couple of talents, and I know how to fight, but… I couldn't save the world without Ron."

These words were followed by silence, and it took a while before Bonnie answered.

"He… he saved me from two guys."

Kim raised an eye-brow. "Thieves?"

Bonnie shuddered. "No, they… they were trying to… to get my dress off when Ron came."

Kim gasped, understanding immediately what the brunette was hinting at. "Oh my… Bonnie! What happened?"

"He told them to leave me alone, and then they attacked him. He wiped the floor with them and called Tara. They took me to Tara's place."

"Have you called the police? Did they capture them?"

Bonnie shook her head. "No, I haven't."

"What?" Kim couldn't believe it. "But… but why not?"

"They were my sisters' boyfriends. And that's not all." Bonnie took a deep breath before she continued in a shaky voice. "I talked to our lawyer. He said that if I don't have any proof, they could sue me for defamation and slander. The problem is: I can't prove anything. My dress isn't torn, not even dirty, and I wasn't injured, so it would be their statements against ours."

"But…"

"There's more. When… when Ron told my sisters about what happened, Lonnie left, and we haven't heard from her since. Connie believes me, but I don't know about Lonnie…" At this point, Bonnie started sobbing again and couldn't continue.

Kim stood there, slack-jawed. When she'd followed Tara, wanting to have a talk with Bonnie, she'd never have expected anything like this. For the first time ever, she could and did actually sympathize with the brunette. "Bonnie, I'm really sorry… Is there anything I can do?"

Bonnie shook her head, sniffing back the last of her tears. "Unless you can find a way to prove my story, no. And you shouldn't want to help me, either, after what I did to Ron."

And there was another premiere: Kim had never heard any self-loathing in Bonnie's voice, but it was definitely there now. "I haven't forgotten about that," Kim stated calmly. "But I think you have more than enough on your plate as it is. What are you going to do now?"

"I… I don't know… I don't think I can face Ron or Tara now..."

"Well, you'll have to face them sooner or later… better do it sooner."

Bonnie sighed. "I guess so…" She looked into the mirror. "But I have to clean up first."

Kim nodded. "Alright, I'll see you at cheer practise then, ok?"

"Yes…" Kim had almost left, when Bonnie added, "Kim?"

The red-head turned with a questioning look.

"Thanks."

Kim gave a tiny smile. "No big." And with that she left Bonnie to her thoughts.

While Tara and Kim had gone after Bonnie, Felix had accompanied Ron to the boys' lavatory.

"Ron-man, I don't know what you've done, but this sure is a new level of mean, even for Bonnie."

Ron took of his jersey and shirt, turned on the water and started washing Bonnie's lunch out of his hair. When he was finished, Felix handed him a towel. "Thanks."

"Seriously, Ron, what happened? I mean, first she greets you, and then she dumps her lunch on you."

Ron sighed. "Sorry, I can't tell you. I made a promise, you know?"

Rufus, who had climbed out of Ron's pocket and stood on the armrest of Felix' wheelchair, chattered indignantly.

Felix nodded. "I think Rufus shares my opinion. Even if you promised Bonnie not to talk about it, she doesn't have the right to treat you like this."

"I know…" He finished drying his hair. "Anyway, could we please drop the whole promise thing?"

"No problem, Ron-man. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

Ron smiled. "Actually, yes. Could you go to my locker in the locker-room and get my mad-dog outfit? I don't think I can wear my jersey anymore…"

Felix grinned. "Can do. You want the head, too?"

Ron laughed at that. "No, thanks buddy."

"Okay then, I'll be right back." With that, Felix left the lavatory, leaving Ron and Rufus, who had jumped off the armrest and onto a sink, behind. His departure was followed by a rather long silence.

"What do you think, Rufus?" Ron finally asked his little friend.

The pink rodent crossed his arms. "Bonnie yuck!"

Ron sighed. "Maybe, but I still have to keep my promise. Aww, Rufus, it'll be so hard to keep this whole thing from Kim! What do I do now?"

The mole-rat shrugged. "Dunno."

"You know, Rufus, I'm really glad that I can at least talk to you, even though you can't do much… You're the only one who knows everything!"

Rufus looked at him with questioning eyes. "Tara?"

Ron slapped his forehead. "Of course! I can talk to Tara, too! Thanks, Rufus!" He high-fived the little fellow. "Perhaps she can help me with this mess…" He looked at his image in the mirror. "Okay, buddy, do you see any food left on me?"

Rufus checked Ron's back and gave his owner the thumbs-up. "All clean!"

Ron smiled. "Alright! The Ronster is ready to face the rest of the day!" He suddenly gulped. "Whatever it may bring…" He knew it wouldn't get any easier… But perhaps he could evade any further trouble if he just stayed away from Bonnie and her posse, dodged Kim's questions (which he knew would come) and generally tried to keep a low profile. He looked at Rufus. "Ok, Rufus, here's the plan: We'll go ninja for the rest of the day!"

Rufus blinked. "Huh?"

Ron waved his arms while explaining. "Well, you know, stay hidden, sneak in and out of classes undetected… that kind of stuff!"

"Quite a difficult mission, Ron," a voice answered. It was Felix, who had just returned with Ron's clothes and grinned at his friend. "Especially since Tara's waiting for you outside."

"She is?" Ron asked. "Why?"

Felix's grin widened. "It seems she's not happy about what Bonnie did. Anyway she wants to talk to you. I think she likes you."

Ron gulped. "You think so?"

"Put some clothes on and find out!" Felix threw Ron's clothes at him and turned round. "I'll call you later, Ron-man!" And with that, he left before Ron could reply anything.

The blonde boy took a deep breath after changing into the fresh clothes he'd got. "Okay, Rufus, are you ready to go out there?"

The mole-rat smiled. "Uh-huh!" he nodded and then jumped into Ron's pocket.

"Well, easy for you to say, buddy, you can hide away in my pocket all day…" And so he left the lavatory to find out what Tara wanted to talk to him about.

The usually cheery blonde was waiting for Ron with an anxious expression on her face. "Hey Ron," she said timidly.

"Hey Tara," Ron replied nervously. "Felix said you wanted to talk to me?"

She nodded. "Yes… Ron, I'm really sorry about what happened."

"It's okay. I mean, it's not like Bonnie has never thrown one of her tantrums, right?" he tried to joke.

"I never liked how she treated you, Ron, and after what you did for her…" Tara stopped; she didn't want to become angry again. "Well, anyway, I should've said something to her about that much earlier. You don't deserve that kind of treatment, Ron. I'm really sorry."

Ron just waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it, Tara, I'm fine."

"You always say that, Ron... but I'm sure, deep down, it still hurts a little bit, no matter what you say."

He scratched his neck. "Well, it's not nice, but hey! I'm still alive and kickin'!"

Tara smiled a little. "You always joke your way out of everything, don't you?" When Ron smiled sheepishly, she gathered all her courage. "Well, how about we continue this talk tonight? We could have dinner and see a movie or something…"

Silence.

Ron blinked.

More silence.

Ron blinked again.

"Tara… are you… err… are you asking me out? I mean, on… on a date?"

Tara blushed profusely. "Well…" But then, she took a deep breath and looked Ron straight in the eye. "Yes, yes I am. So what do you say?" She held her breath, waiting for his answer.

She didn't have to wait long, as Ron's lips parted in a bright smile. "Boo-ya! It's a date!"

Tara returned his smile with a very dazzling and relieved one of her own. "Great! Pick me up at seven?"

He nodded. "Sure!"

"Okay, see you at seven, then!" She turned to go to her locker and get her stuff for the rest of the day, but there was definitely a spring in her step that hadn't been there before.

Ron just watched her leave, unable to move. "Rufus?"

The little rodent came out of Ron's pocket and climbed up to his shoulder. "Huh?"

"Rufus… I.. I have a date!" He jumped and raised his fist victoriously over his head. "Ron Stoppable has a date! Boo-ya!"

"Boo-ya!" the pink mole-rat chimed in.

"Perhaps this day won't be as bad as I thought. Come on, Rufus, I can't afford to get detention today!" With that, he hurried to his locker. He didn't notice the pair of green eyes that had witnessed the scene and narrowed dangerously.

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There you have it! I had different plans with Kim originally, but I think it would've been very ooc for her not to help in a situation like this (even if it is Bonnie), and after all, we know these two can be almost civil to each other (as in "Bonding"), but let me know what you think! And just in case I don't get the next chapter done within the next seven days: Merry Christmas everyone!


	11. Talking to Ron

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

My first and most delightful duty is to thank you once again for your wonderful reviews! I wouldn't be near as fast in updating (which is probably still too slow anyway) if it weren't for the extra motivation I get out of reading all that great feedback I've been getting, so thanks a lot! I'll try the reply function again these days; I just wanted to get the new chapter finished first. I'm glad that you thought Kim was ic; that was very important to me. Before we dive into the next chapter, I'll quickly answer one question by Aero Tendo I really liked: Yes, I will cover Lonnie; this will actually be pretty important soon.

And now, enjoy the new chappie, and please let me know what you think about it!

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"Boo!"

"Whoa! What…? Monique?!"

Monique grinned mischievously at Kim. "Sorry, girl, but you were jealin' so hard, I couldn't resist."

"I was so not jealin'!"

Monique raised a mocking eye-brow. "Whatever you say, Kim! But if looks could kill, Tara…"

"I'm not jealin'!" Kim interrupted her. "Why would I be?!"

The black-haired beauty grinned. "Let's see, because Tara could seriously cut into your Ron-time, because you could feel left out, because he could be happy without you, because…"

"Alright, alright, I get it, Monique! Thank you!" Kim grumbled. "Could we go to class now?"

"But of course, girlfriend."

"And I was not jealin'…" the red-head mumbled silently while walking to her next class.

Many pupils all over the world subjectively consider school lessons to pass much slower than the rest of the day. Minutes seem to turn into hours till the bell finally rings to announce the end of another school day.

To Bonnie, Kim and Tara, this day seemed to set a record in slow-passing.

Bonnie had spent a considerable amount of time in the girls' lavatory, thinking about everything that had happened. She had come to the conclusion that she really needed to talk to Tara and Ron. She knew it probably wouldn't be a pleasant conversation, but it needed to be done, so she would try to catch Ron after cheer practise and talk to Tara later. The only remaining question was: What would she say? What could she say?

Kim tried to figure out what she was feeling. Was Monique right after all? She couldn't be jealous, could she? And why would she be? Ron was her best friend, always had been! Even if he started dating Tara, that wouldn't change anything, would it? Ron had never had a girlfriend before, so she couldn't know for sure how that would affect their friendship. And then she had a nagging feeling of discomfort when she thought about him and Tara as a pair; the looks Tara was sending Ron's way didn't help matters. She decided to have a talk with him about the whole thing, but it would have to wait till after cheer practise, when she could talk to him alone.

Tara couldn't wait for this day to end; she was very much looking forward to her date with Ron. Her date with Ron! She had to giggle every time she thought about it. She'd summoned all of her courage and finally asked Ron out, and he'd said yes! She could barely contain her happiness and tried very hard not to stare openly at him all the time. She couldn't understand why no one else saw what a rare person he was, but then again, so much the better for her! If only time would pass faster…

Ron was probably the only one to who time was passing normally. As usual, he didn't pay much attention to the lectures the teachers were giving, but thought about everything that had happened on this (even by his standards) strange day. At least he had something to look forward to: the date with Tara. If he could just survive cheer practise, everything would be fine, and fortunately, he had Rufus to help him through the day.

Finally, the bell rang, and everyone packed their stuff.

Kim shot up from her seat and made a bee-line for Ron's chair, only to find Tara already standing there and talking to Ron.

"Hey, KP, I'll see you in a little bit at cheer practise, ok?" Ron asked with one of his goofy grins.

Kim forced a smile on her face. "Sure, Ron."

He looked at her with a questioning look in his eye. "Are you ok, Kim?"

The smile remained on her face. "Of course! I'll see you in a bit!"

He just nodded and left the room with Tara, who had a huge smile plastered on her face.

Kim felt like kicking something. How could he leave her behind like that? And how could she act all lovey-dovey around him? Then suddenly, after fuming silently for a few moments, it hit Kim: She realized how she had always left Ron behind whenever she'd had a crush on someone. No, not left behind, completely ignored Ron! He had always been there for her, and how had she thanked him? She'd turned her back on him whenever the newest hottie was around. And did he repay her in kind now that someone was interested in him? No, he still talked to her, even asked if she was alright! A powerful wave of shame washed over her. Some friend she'd been! But that would change now! She'd be happy for her best friend and support him! With that decision made, she left the classroom, feeling much better. After all, being supportive didn't mean she couldn't keep an eye on the sitch…

Half an hour later, Kim was about to explode. Cheer practise was a catastrophe, and that was putting it mildly. Bonnie was completely out of it, and only the fact that she knew why prevented Kim from tearing into her. Tara was very distracted, too, as she always glanced at Ron and what he was doing. When the pyramid collapsed once again, Kim finally burst.

"Alright, people, that's it! Why can't we have just one good run-through? Bonnie, concentrate!" Bonnie jumped and nodded while Kim continued. "Tara!"

The blonde, who had been looking at Ron again, started. "Yes, Kim?" she asked timidly.

"It would be just spankin' if you could keep your eyes off the mascot and your head in the game for a couple of minutes!" Kim snarled.

Tara shuddered. "I'm sorry, it's just…"

"I neither want nor need to hear excuses! Once more from the top! Now!" Kim started the music, and the girls began their cheer.

Unfortunately, Tara and Bonnie collided halfway through the number, when Bonnie stumbled and Tara stepped in the wrong direction.

Kim groaned and stopped the music. "Okay, I give up. I don't think we'll achieve anything except broken bones if we continue, so let's call it a day. Bonnie! I expect you to be in top form next time! Tara, the same goes for you!"

Both girls nodded with a very red face, while the others left for the showers, whispering about what might be going on.

Ron strolled over. "Hey girls, don't worry, everyone can have a bad day," he said in his cheery voice.

Kim rolled her eyes. "I hope that's all it is, Ron, a bad day… Walk me home?"

He smiled. "Sure thing, KP!"

She returned the smile. "'Kay, I'll just hit the shower first." Noticing that Bonnie and Tara were still standing there, too, she decided to take a long shower, as she was sure Bonnie would want to talk to Ron.

Ron, who hadn't noticed that the two girls were still there because they were standing behind him, nodded, turned to go to the boys' locker room and almost walked into them. "Whoa, sorry, ladies, didn't see you there!"

While Bonnie stared at the ground, Tara smiled at him and answered. "No problem, Ron! I hope Kim isn't too mad at me for messing up today…"

Ron waved his hand dismissively. "Nah, don't worry." With a wink, he added, "Just make sure that the next practise will go better."

Tara smiled sweetly at him, and Bonnie cleared her throat nervously.

"Err, Ron?" the brunette began rather timidly. "Could I talk to you for a second?"

Tara's eyes narrowed, but Ron answered before she could say anything. "Sure, why not?" Noticing the tension, he jokingly added. "As long as you don't dump anything on me again, cause I don't have another set of clothes here."

Bonnie actually blushed at that. "I won't."

Ron nodded. "Alright then. Tara, I'll pick you up at seven, ok?"

The platinum blonde answered in the affirmative, but it was pretty clear that she'd rather have stayed. When she'd finally left, Ron looked at Bonnie and waited for her to say something.

The brunette steeled herself. She had never been good at apologizing, but Ron more than deserved an apology for what she'd done.

"Ron… Look, I'm sorry. I… I…"

"You got into trouble because you talked to me," Ron continued for her when he saw she couldn't. He took her surprised look as his cue to elaborate. "I saw how the others were talking to you at lunch, and I heard the rumours." He sighed. "I know I'm not on that food-chain-thingy, so the rules say you can't talk to me."

Bonnie swallowed hard. Ron spoke very matter-of-factly about the unspoken rules, but somehow, they suddenly seemed harsh, cruel and stupid to her. Why did she even follow these rules?

Ron sighed again. What he was about to say had taken him all afternoon to think about and figure out. "Look, Bonnie, if you hadn't dumped your lunch on me or something like that, you would've lost your popularity, and I know that your status is very important to you. Now, I don't want you to give something up that is very important to you just because of me. I'm sure you'd miss being popular, and I don't wanna see you sad."

Bonnie couldn't believe what she was hearing. He'd saved her on so many levels already, and now he was trying to save her popularity, even if it meant complete ridicule and nasty comments for him! No one had ever done anything like that for her, not even close! Her tears were falling freely now, but she didn't notice. All she saw was Ron, who was looking at her worriedly.

He was mentally kicking himself. All he'd wanted to do was tell her that everything was okay, that she didn't have to worry about him. After all, she was having a hard enough time as it was, and he didn't want to add to her problems. He tried to calm her down. "Hey, please don't cry; it'll all be okay, I promise! I didn't wanna upset you, Bonnie!"

When Bonnie heard that, her crying turned into outright bawling. She'd never felt so cared about, so accepted, so respected and at the same time so completely undeserving of it.

Ron, not knowing what to do to stop Bonnie's tears, tentatively touched her shoulder, and the brunette immediately flung herself into his arms and cried into his chest. Ron automatically wrapped his arms around her and gently stroked her hair. It was something his mother had always done when he'd cried, and it seemed to help.

"Ron, I'm so sorry," Bonnie finally managed to say. She raised her head and looked at him. "You're a great guy, no matter what others may say, and you never deserved any of the things I did to you. I… I really wanted to make it up to you, start over again… but then… people bugged me all morning, the rumours really got to me… and then, at lunch…"

"You just snapped," Ron finished for her.

"Something like that, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," he assured her. "At least the rumours stopped, and everything's back to normal."

"But I don't want things to go back to… that. I… I don't want to treat you like that."

Ron sighed. "Well, I'm afraid you don't have a choice if you want to stay popular. You see, my motto is 'never be normal', but I don't think that would work for you."

Bonnie smiled for the first time when she answered. "Don't worry about me; you do that far too much anyway."

"I'm sorry," he replied sheepishly. "I…" But he was cut off when Bonnie put her index finger on his mouth.

"On second thought, scratch that. It actually feels nice to know someone worries about me. But you won't have to this time."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked doubtingly. "I mean…" And again, he was interrupted by the brunette.

"Yes, I am." Then her confidence deflated a bit. "But I might need your help…"

Ron just smiled his goofy grin. "Hey, you need the Ronster, all you have to do is ask. And you'll also get a naked mole-rat as a bonus!"

Bonnie smiled, feeling very relieved. "Where is that little guy, anyway?"

"Asleep. He had to catch up on his sleep after helping me with the clean-up."

Bonnie felt her guilty conscience rise at that.

Ron seemed to notice that, as he immediately asked: "So, how do you plan to make that whole 'new attitude' thing work? Won't the others chew you out again?"

Bonnie just smiled a dangerous little smile. "Oh, you'll see… This time, I'll be prepared."

"Okaaaay…"

She grinned before turning serious again. "Anyway, thanks for everything, Ron…"

He scratched his neck; having Bonnie thanking him still ranked high on the weird-o-meter after all. "No problem, Bonnie."

"Well, I should be going… I have to talk to Tara…"

"What's with you and Tara? I noticed there was some tension between you… Did you have an argument?"

Bonnie nodded. "That would be an understatement."

"Was it because of the lunch thing?" he asked.

"Yes," Bonnie confirmed. "But don't worry about it. She had every right to be angry. If I apologize, things should be fine."

"Alright. I hope you two will be okay."

"We will be," Bonnie said confidently. "After all, we are best friends."

Ron nodded. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Yes, see you tomorrow, Ron…" With that, she hugged him and quietly said. "Things will be different from now on, I promise."

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AN: Merry Christmas, everyone! I really managed to get this one done in time (a feat that I'm actually proud of ;))! I won't be able to post another chapter before January, however, so I wish you a Happy New Year, as well!


	12. What happened on the way

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Again, thanks so much for the reviews! I will (at last) answer them, but I really wanted to get the new chapter finished first. Admittedly, it's rather short, but I just couldn't continue past the cliffhanger this time. Anyway, I hope you like it (and find it review-worthy); it should definitely be able to surprise you. My last and very happy announcement: We've cracked the 15.000 hits! Yay! And now, as always, on with the show! Enjoy!

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After a very long shower and slowly changing back, Kim waited for Ron in front of the boys' locker room. When she heard a metallic noise and a moan from inside, she asked: "Ron? Are you ok?"

Only seconds later, the door opened and her best friend came out, rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, KP, I'm fine; I just stumbled and hit my head against the lockers," he told her with a grin.

Kim had to smile. That was so typical! "One of these days, you'll get yourself into hospital with your clumsiness," she said while they started walking home.

"Oh, you mean Middleton General, where all these nice nurses work?" he asked jokingly.

Kim elbowed him lightly. "I think someone might have something against you going after the nurses," she said playfully.

Ron blushed. "Right! Man, I still can't believe I have a date!" he exclaimed euphorically. "Isn't that great, KP? Tara really asked me out!" Suddenly, he turned nervous. "I just hope I don't mess it up. I mean, she's so beautiful, and nice, and she has these beautilicious blue eyes, and she's a cheerleader, and she has this sweet voice, and she's beautiful…"

"You already mentioned that," Kim interjected through slightly clenched teeth.

"Oh, I did? Well, it's true… KP, what am I going to do? I don't wanna blow it!" He sounded positively panicky now and was breathing heavily.

Kim sighed. 'Be a good best friend,' she chided herself mentally before calmly talking to Ron. "Relax, Ron. Deep breaths. Just be yourself, and everything will be fine."

"But what if myself isn't good enough?"

"Ron, listen to me." Kim stopped, which prompted Ron to stop as well, put her hands on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Yourself is more than good enough for any girl in the world, okay? If she is too blind, too stupid, too full of herself or too whatever to see that, then it's her loss. You're a great guy, Ron."

He blinked. "Funny, that's the second time I've heard that today."

Kim let go of his shoulders. "That you're a great guy?"

"Yes," he confirmed. "Bonnie said that, too, when she apologized for the lunch thing."

The red-head was pretty surprised to hear that. "Wow, I wouldn't have thought Bonnie would apologize for anything…" She grinned. "And to think that the first thing we've ever agreed on is you being a great guy."

Ron nodded sagely with a trace of humour still visible while resuming the walk. "Well, if you two agree on that, it has to be true."

She elbowed him again. "Don't let it go to your head, oh great one."

He laughed. "I won't. Thanks, KP, I'm feeling much better now."

She just smiled. "No big."

"Very big," he replied, shaking his head. "You're always there when I need you. You're the best best friend I could imagine."

She swallowed a bit, touched by the sincerity in his voice, and hugged him. "That's so ferociously sweet, Ron, thanks." After a few seconds, she let go of him. With a sly grin, she mock-chided, "But you know, you should save the sweet-talk for your date, or Tara might get jealous."

He laughed. "Oh, we wouldn't want that!"

A few minutes later, they reached the Possible house.

Kim turned to her best friend. "Well, Ron, I wish you good luck for your date tonight. Remember: Just be yourself."

He grinned. "Can do, KP. Being myself is something I'm good at!"

She rolled her eyes playfully. "Don't I know? Now get going, or you won't get your homework done before the date!"

He sighed. "Aww, man, did you have to remind me?" At her stern gaze, he raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I was just kidding! Don't worry, I got it all covered. I'll call you later, KP!"

"Later, Ron!"

Kim entered her home and sighed. Being supportive of her best friend proved to be more difficult than she thought. But why? It wasn't that she didn't like Tara, but the way she was acting around Ron… It was just annoying! And now she hadn't even been able to talk to Ron about everything that had happened since Friday! She decided to talk to her mother when she returned from work and went upstairs to start on her homework.

When Ron came home, he was in high spirits, even though he knew he'd have to do his homework quickly if he wanted to be ready for his date in time. His date! He could hardly believe he actually had one! He sat down in front of his desk with a huge smile plastered on his face. This day had been quite a boost for his self-confidence! Bonnie and Kim had each told him that he was a great guy, and Tara had asked him out. Could it get any better? He sighed. It would get a little worse now, as he had to complete his homework, but at least he had something to look forward to, something to keep him motivated. "Rufus, the pen please."

The naked mole-rat hurried over, grabbed a pen and carried it to Ron, who had taken out his books and other material by now.

"Thanks, buddy," the blonde said when he took his pen from Rufus' tiny paws. "Now I have to get all that stuff done, so I must not be distracted, okay?"

The little fellow nodded hi head. "Uh-huh, uh-huh!" He then scurried to Ron's nightstand and went to sleep.

Ron smiled at his little buddy. Rufus truly was the greatest friend anyone could have in a pet. When no one believed in him, Rufus did. When no one supported him, Rufus did. When no one cheered him on, Rufus did. The little mole-rat could well be one of the reasons that Ron still was the way he was, and Ron was very grateful for that. He finally turned to his desk and started working.

It was almost six o'clock when Ron was finished. He closed his history book and took a deep breath. "Boo-ya! All done!" He jumped from his chair and did a little dance. "Ok, Rufus, let's do the checklist!"

The little mole-rat saluted with his paw.

"I need to shower, get dressed and drive over to Tara's. Am I missing anything?" Ron asked

Rufus jumped up and down. "Flowers!"

The blonde boy slapped his hand against his forehead. "Of course! Thanks, buddy! I owe you!"

The pink rodent smiled. "Cheese!"

A grin spread over Ron's face as well. "What else! When I return, I'll bring you an extra helping of cheese, deal?"

Rufus looked at him with questioning eyes, and Ron slapped his forehead again. "Aw, shoot! I forgot!" He looked at his best buddy very seriously. "Rufus, I need to do this alone, you see? This is a date-date, and date-dates are for two only, so I can't take you with me this time. I'm really sorry."

Rufus sighed. "Okay."

Ron patted him on the head. "Thanks a million, buddy. Look, I'll talk to Tara, and I'm sure she won't mind if you come along next time. It's just… this is not just a date-date, it's a first date-date."

Rufus sensed the guilty conscience of his owner, so, being the supportive mole-rat that he was, he put on a smile. "Okay, okay." This seemed to reassure Ron, for he nodded.

"You're the best!" He then left for the shower.

Half an hour later, Ron was ready to leave. He was wearing what he liked to call "date clothes" and, feeling that he was growing nervous again, took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. Rufus gave him the thumbs-up with a big smile, and Ron squared his shoulders. "Alright, I can do this! There's nothing to worry about!"

"Boo-ya!" Rufus chimed in.

Ron smiled. "You're right, buddy! Boo-ya for the Ronster! Okay, I'll go now. You have a good time."

Rufus nodded and scurried over to the computer. He would first play Everlot, then have a nice nap.

Ron went downstairs, and since his parents weren't home, he switched off the lights before he left.

Proverbial wisdom has it that things seldom work out as planned.

Ron Stoppable had to make this experience soon after he left the house. He was just about to start his scooter, when a female voice addressed him in a mocking and intimidating tone.

"Look at this. The buffoon's made an effort to look nice for his capture. How sweet."

Ron froze in place and turned round, his face as white as chalk.

"Hello there, Stoppable. I'm afraid your date is with me now."

'At least she remembered my name,' was the last thought Ron had before a green plasma blast knocked him unconscious.


	13. To save a sidekick

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Once again: Thanks so much for the reviews! Yeah, Shego was quite a surprise guest, wasn't she? I hope I'm doing her justice (love the character). Anyway, enough with the preliminary talk! Let's launch into the action straight away!

Enjoy the chapter, and feel free (encouraged even!) to leave some feedback!

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When Ron finally came to after Shego had knocked him out, he moaned and slowly opened his eyes. He noticed that he was bound to a chair and gagged. 'That's new,' he thought grimly. Usually, the villains didn't gag him, but he figured that perhaps Drakken didn't want to be interrupted during his rant this time. Taking a look around, he realized he had to be in some sort of a warehouse, which surprised him. No villain's lair?

Then, Shego stepped into view. Her face showed a malicious grin, while she slowly approached her captive. "Hello again, buffoon. I'm glad to see you're awake… It took you long enough! Gives me someone to talk to while we're waiting. Not that you could answer…" She tapped her chin with her index finger thoughtfully. "I don't know why my employers specifically ordered for you to be gagged all the time, but hey! They pay good money, so who am I to judge their methods?" Ron looked at her in confusion.

"Oh, you're probably wondering what I'm talking about. See, I'm not doing this for Drakken. As a matter of fact, I don't really know who these two guys are that hired me, but they really seem to hate your guts; otherwise they wouldn't have agreed to pay such a ridiculous amount of money for your capture. Not that I mind, of course."

Ron's mind worked frantically. Who could…? He blanched. Was Shego talking about the two guys he'd saved Bonnie from?

Shego grinned. "Ah, you seem to know them."

Ron was earnestly trying to get out of the chair now, his face as pale as a ghost's.

"Don't sweat it, Stoppable, I made sure you won't get free this time, and your annoying little pet isn't here to help you." She yawned. "They could show up now, though. They're late already, and I have better things to do than baby-sit a buffoon."

She had hardly said that, when the door opened, and two young men came in. They were indeed the guys that Ron had beaten up after the party.

"Yo, about time!" Shego said in a slightly annoyed voice. "It's just no fun to tease a gagged captive, you know? So, where's my money?"

One of the guys was carrying a small case. "I've got it right here, Miss Shego." He set the case down and opened it. It was full of money.

Shego nodded, satisfied. "Excellent. He's yours, then." She went over, picked up the small case and turned round with a charming smile. "Bye bye, buffoon… I had a wonderful evening! Perhaps we can do it again some time." She winked and left the warehouse, chuckling.

When the door closed behind her, the guys, who hadn't taken their eyes off of her while she was there, turned and looked at Ron. "Well, well, well… Seems like we have you now, Stoppable," one of them said menacingly, while the other one cracked his knuckles.

Ron gulped. This was going to be anything but pleasant…

Kim sat in the back of a taxi, checking her watch every few seconds. This definitely was a sitch she hadn't expected!

She had finished her homework and was talking to Monique on the phone, when Tara had called. The blonde seemed very worried, and with good reason: Ron hadn't shown up for their date, and he hadn't called either. Tara hadn't been able to reach him at home, so she'd called Kim to see if she knew anything.

"_Sorry, Tara, I have no idea what might've happened, but I'll check and call you back, ok?"_

"_Thanks, Kim, please do. I just hope it's nothing serious…"_

_Kim didn't waste any time and called Wade._

"_Hey Kim, what's up?"_

"_Hi Wade, could you tell me where Ron is? He's missed his date with Tara, and he doesn't answer his phone."_

"_Just gimme a sec!" The boy genius clicked away on his keyboard for a few seconds. "Well, he's not at home."_

"_Then where is he? I'm sure he wouldn't miss his date with Tara for no reason." Kim grew really worried now. "You still have Ron chipped, right Wade?"_

_The boy sighed. "Yes, I have… There! Got him! That's strange…"_

_Kim raised an eyebrow. "What is strange?"_

_Wade's fingers flew over his keyboard. "Well… He seems to be in Upperton… in a warehouse."_

_Kim frowned. "What? Why would he be…? Someone must've kidnapped him! Wade, I need a ride!"_

"_Done. It will be at your house in five. Do you need anything else?"_

"_No, thanks Wade! I'll call you when I've found him."_

Kim had then called Tara back. The blonde had been so worried that she'd called Bonnie while Kim was talking to Wade, and the brunette had come over immediately. When Kim had told her what she'd found out, the blonde insisted on coming along.

"_Tara, this could be dangerous. Any of our foes could've kidnapped Ron for lots of reasons. It might even be a trap to get me!"_

"_All the more reason to have some backup! Kim, I… I really care about Ron! If he's in danger, I want to help him!"_

"_I can understand that, Tara, but…"_

"_I'll do whatever you say, but please don't make me stay at home!"_

_Tara was almost sobbing now, and Kim gave in with a sigh. "Alright, I'll give you the address."_

Kim really didn't know why she'd done that. Tara would probably be in the way more than she could help. But then again… She knew how she'd feel if Ron was in danger and she couldn't do anything to help. She sighed again.

"We're here, Miss Possible," the driver announced.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Goodham!"

"It's the least I could do after you got my taxi back from those criminals!"

"It was no big. I gotta jet! Bye!" Kim ran toward the warehouse. Tara was already waiting nearby, and so was Bonnie! Kim could hardly believe her eyes. Both girls seemed very worried.

"Tara, Bonnie!" Kim's surprise could clearly be heard. "What…?"

"Look, he helped me," Bonnie interrupted impatiently, "and I couldn't let Tara go to a place like this alone. So let's quit the questioning and move directly to the action part, okay?"

Kim just nodded. "Right. Well, okay. Here's the plan…"

Pain. All Ron felt at the moment was a jabbing pain in his stomach. That probably had something to do with the fists that had recently hit his stomach repeatedly. The pain was so strong that he didn't feel anything in the rest of his body, which was covered in bruises. He couldn't move, he couldn't defend himself, he could only hope that it would all be over soon. The guys hadn't said much, just something about him paying for spoiling their fun, and then they had started beating him up.

"Hey, Marv, let's take a break. My hand's hurting, and that little rat won't go anywhere," one of them said.

Marv sank his fist into Ron's stomach one last time before wiping his brow. "Yeah, I could use a beer." He turned to his captive. "Don't worry, we'll be back in a minute and talk some more," he mocked with an ugly grin. Then he turned away from Ron. "Pete, get me a beer, will ya?"

At this moment, the door was kicked in, and Kim jumped into the warehouse. The image that awaited her made her go pale: Ron was there, bound to a chair and badly beaten up. Close to him were two guys, one of which had a bottle of beer in his hand. Behind her, Tara and Bonnie stormed into the room. The horrified gasps of the other girls were what brought Kim back into action. She attacked the guys, who were slow to recover from their surprise, with a series of kicks and punches that sent them flying.

Meanwhile, Tara had run over to Ron's semi-conscious form. "Ron, we're here! We'll get you out in a second!" Her hands were shaking badly as she tried to untie him.

The guys were now lying on the floor, knocked out by Kim's furious attacks. Kim sent them a last glare, reassuring herself that they wouldn't stand up anytime soon, before turning to Ron. Tara had managed to free him from his bonds, but he looked a mess and didn't seem to be able to stand up. Kim pulled out her Kimmunicator. "Wade!"

The boy genius appeared instantly on the screen. "Kim! Did you find Ron?" he asked worriedly.

She nodded, fighting to keep her calm. "Yes. We need an ambulance and the police, Wade."

"How bad is it?" Wade asked in a frightened voice while entering the necessary commands on his keyboard.

"He was beaten up badly. I'll call you later, okay?" She glanced over at Ron, who Tara was holding in a careful embrace now.

"Of course, Kim."

Wade signed off, and Kim walked quickly over to her best friend. "Ron, how do you feel?" she asked in a tender voice.

He raised his head a little. "Hey, KP," he replied weakly. "Not too good…"

She took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, all the while fighting back tears that threatened to spill at the sight before her. "Wade called an ambulance; they should be here any minute."

"Who are these guys? Why did they beat you up like this?" Tara asked in a shaky voice.

Ron coughed. "They… they're the guys who tried to…" His whole body was shaken by another coughing fit, and he grimaced in pain. He didn't need to finish the sentence, though. Both girls understood perfectly.

"Where's Bonnie?" Tara asked in a strained whisper.

The both looked around only to find Bonnie still standing stiffly at the entrance, her whole body shaking and her eyes staring at the prone forms of the two guys.

Tara released Ron from her embrace. "Could you take care of Ron for a moment? I'll talk to Bonnie," Tara said.

Kim nodded and put her arm carefully around the shoulder of her best friend since Pre-K. His coughing had stopped, and she turned a little so he could rest his head against her shoulder.

"KP," he managed to say. "Thanks for saving me again."

"Oh Ron," she said, a few tears finally falling, "I'm so sorry I didn't get here sooner! I should've expected that they'd try something like this! I…"

"KP," he interrupted her rant with a surprisingly strong voice. He had to cough again before he could continue softly. "You did nothing wrong. I'll be ok, thanks to you, so don't beat yourself up over it."

She sniffed and hugged him a little tighter, careful not to hurt him in the process. "I just wish I'd been here sooner. How did they manage to capture you?"

"They didn't." Ron's voice was merely a whisper, but he managed to utter one last sentence before he finally lost consciousness. "They hired Shego for that."

Meanwhile, Tara had walked over to Bonnie. "It's okay, Bonnie, they can't do anything to you or anyone else anymore. They'll go to jail."

The words seemed to take some time to register with the brunette, but she finally managed to tear her gaze away from the guys, who were still knocked out. She looked at Tara, but only managed to shake her head weakly.

The blonde hugged her friend carefully. "It's okay, Bonnie, you're safe, and so is Ron."

Finally, Bonnie's stiffness vanished, and the brunette hugged her friend back, crying into her shoulder.

A few moments later, approaching sirens could be heard, and shortly after, policemen and paramedics entered the warehouse. While the police took away the two guys, who were coming to just in time, the paramedics took care of Ron and Bonnie. Tara and Kim gave Officer Hobble quick statements.

Ron and Bonnie were in the ambulance already, when Kim stopped Tara, who was about to climb into the car as well. At the blonde's questioning glance, Kim cleared her throat. "Tara, could you take care of them? There's something I need to do, but I'll be with you all as soon as possible."

"I will, Kim," was Tara's reply. "Don't take too long."

"I won't," Kim answered with a grim expression. "I'll just have a word with an old foe of mine…"


	14. Consequences

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Thanks for all the new reviews! They were especially helpful this time, because they reminded me of a few things I have yet to cover, and of course, they were great motivators as always:) I'm still amazed how many people actually read this story and give me their input, so thanks a lot!

And now it's time to look at some of the consequences of the night... I hope you'll like it!

Enjoy (and don't hesitate to drop me a line)!

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Tara stood in the hospital room that Ron and Bonnie were in. The last hour had been an hour to remember, that much was obvious. Bonnie had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but when the doctors wanted to examine her in a separate room, she threw a tantrum of hitherto unknown proportions until she was in the same room that Ron was in. Fortunately, she was alright now, even though she needed to stay in bed and rest. Ron, however, was an entirely different matter. Tara was very worried about him: He had two broken ribs and lots of bruises and swellings. The doctors had been surprised that his injuries hadn't been worse, but he had still not woken up. She sighed and took his hand.

"You really like him, don't you?" Bonnie suddenly asked quietly from her bed.

Tara looked over at her and nodded with a small smile. "I do. He really is something else, you know?"

The brunette smiled in reply. "Yeah, I've noticed."

There was a moment's silence, before Bonnie continued in a very small voice. "And now he's here, in hospital… all because he helped me."

Tara looked at her with wide eyes. "Bonnie, this isn't your fault! Those two…" She swallowed the word she was about to use. "They are to blame for that!"

"I know, Tara, but… What about all the times before today?"

"What do you mean?" Tara seemed honestly confused.

"Well, I always badmouthed him and labelled him a loser. Don't you think some of the trouble he had at school was because of that?" Bonnie asked in a subdued voice.

Tara opened her mouth and closed it again. Was Bonnie right? She did yield quite some influence at school… The blonde sighed. "Well, perhaps you're right, but it's not too late to change that."

"You… you think so?" Bonnie asked timidly.

"Of course! It's never too late to change if you really want to," the blonde said simply.

"It's just… It's all so confusing. He… he was always just a loser, a goofball. I could work with that. And now, I see what a nice guy he actually is, how much he does and gives for others, even for people who don't deserve it… like me…"

Tara smiled knowingly. "He doesn't fit into any category or label."

"Exactly!" Bonnie said in exasperation. "I mean… It was so easy before all this happened… And now I find out I've been wrong all the time, and I feel horrible. How can I ever make up for all that?"

"Knowing him, you won't have to," Tara replied. "I mean, I still can't believe he forgave you for that thing at lunch just like that."

Bonnie lowered her head. "Don't remind me," she whispered.

Before Tara could reply anything, the door opened, and Mrs. Dr. Possible entered. "Hey girls," she greeted the two girls in a hushed tone. "How's Ron?"

"Hello, Dr. Possible," both girls answered. "He's still asleep," Tara added. "I hope he wakes up soon."

"I'm sure he will," Kim's mother told her. "Isn't Kim here?"

The blonde shook her head. "No, she told me back there that she had to talk to someone first. Why?"

"I wanted to talk to her… about the two guys she fought."

Bonnie immediately grew pale, while Tara worriedly asked, "What about them?"

"Well, they came in soon after you."

"What?" Tara exclaimed, then quickly put her hand over her mouth and looked at Ron. Fortunately, she hadn't woken him up.

Dr. Possible nodded. "Yeah. They were hurt quite severely. Officer Hobble thought they were just exaggerating when they complained about their injuries, because Kim never hurts the people she fights badly. However, when one of the guys threw up blood, he hurried both of them over. We had to operate one of them because of an internal bleeding, and they both have several broken bones among other things." She shook her head. "This is completely unlike Kim."

Tara swallowed hard. "Well, they were the ones who captured and hurt Ron…" She looked at Bonnie insecurely, but the brunette had lowered her gaze and remained silent.

Dr. Possible sighed. "I can understand that she was upset by the state Ron was in, but she can't just beat others up like this."

Now, Bonnie finally entered the conversation. "It… it wasn't like that, Dr. Possible. There's… there's more to it than that." And with that, Bonnie slowly started to tell Kim's mother about everything that had happened.

-

Meanwhile, in a lair close to Middleton, Drew Lipski, better known to the world as Dr. Drakken, was ranting. This in itself was nothing unusual, for the mad scientist loved a good, long rant. The topic of his actual rant, however, was not his newest plan but his sidekick, which was very unusual.

"I will not tolerate this any longer, Shego! You can't just leave and return as you please! You've signed a contract, and that contract clearly says you have to be available at all times! I wanted several very important chemicals stolen tonight, and now I have to postpone that and consequently my entire plan, just because you took a night off without even telling me! So where have you been all evening? Why couldn't I reach you?"

Shego sighed. "Look, Dr. D, I just happened to get a nice offer for a quick job, nothing much really…"

"What?! You ignore me for some stupid little job?"

Shego actually took a step backwards. Drakken had never been one of the very intimidating kind, but she hadn't seen him this upset since the day she lost his body to Kim Possible when he had switched bodies with a soldier in order to steal a secret weapon.

"It was just a little kidnapping, Dr. D. I wanted to be back much sooner, but those guys were late and…"

"A kidnapping? Great! Now who in the world was so important that only you could kidnap him?"

"It was Kim Possible's dopey sidekick," Shego admitted.

Drakken seemed to turn purple at this. "What?! Do you have any idea what will happen when that cursed all-that teen finds out who did that? I wanted to lay low for a while, now thanks to you, Kim Possible will be looking everywhere for us!"

"I didn't think…"

"Yes," the blue-skinned scientist interrupted at the top of his lungs. "I can see that!" He seemed to calm down at least a little bit after all the shouting. "Right, who hired you, anyway?"

Shego seemed to shrink a little. "Well, actually, I don't know their names…"

Drakken's jaw fell. "You don't know who hired you? Shego!"

Her temper finally rose. "So what does it matter? They were just two guys who wanted to dish out some payback! They had the money, lots of it actually, so what's the big problem? I can still steal your stupid chemicals tomorrow!"

Drakken's eyes narrowed. "It matters because I am your employer. If you want to…"

At that moment, the alarm sounded and interrupted the evil doctor.

"What now?!" he screamed, his temper flaring again. He received his answer only seconds later, when the main door was kicked in as if it was made of paper and a steaming Kim Possible entered the main room of the lair.

"Kim Possible!" Drakken screamed.

The redhead sent him a glare that could have frozen fire. "I need a word with your sidekick, Drakken, so get out while you still can."

Shego's eyes went wide. Kim had never threatened anyone like this, at least not to her knowledge. The kidnapping seemed to have stung a nerve. Even more surprising, though, was the fact that Drakken didn't leave. He seemed to be in an overly courageous mood, for he set his jaw defiantly and answered in an only slightly trembling voice. "This is my lair, and Shego's my employee, so if you've got something to say, say it to me."

Two pairs of green eyes looked at him incredulously. "What?" he continued meekly. "I read this book about personnel management, and it said…"

"Do you know," Kim interrupted angrily, "what your 'employee' did tonight?"

"She… she kidnapped your sidekick?"

"Correct! And do you know who hired her?"

Drakken swallowed. "Err.. two guys?"

"Correct again! And do you know who these guys are?"

He looked quickly at Shego before answering. "No, I don't. I didn't even know they hired Shego in the first place, but I was just about to…"

He couldn't finish, because he was again interrupted by his arch-foe. "They are two guys who wanted revenge on Ron because he beat them up when they tried to rape one of our classmates!"

This was followed by a very long silence. Drakken's jaw had dropped, and his eyes were as wide as saucers. He slowly turned his head to look at Shego; his henchwoman had paled to a degree that he hadn't thought was possible, and her eyes were just as wide as his.

Finally, it was Kim who broke the silence. "I know you two are villains and want to take over the world, but somehow, I never thought you could sink so low." She looked at Shego. "And you, you're a woman yourself! That you could work for… for such people!"

Shego didn't answer; she slowly shook her head and finally turned round and fled from the room.

The tension seemed to leave Kim's body. She shrugged in a somewhat disappointed and tired manner. "Well, what did I expect…" She looked at Drakken. "A villain's a villain, right?"

In that moment, Drakken finally found his voice again. "Now listen here, Missy! I may want to take over the world, or at least Canada, but I will not be associated with that kind of scum, you hear me? I would never do that to anyone!"

"And why wouldn't you?" Kim asked spitefully.

Drakken's jaw fell again. "What? How can you even ask that? I had Shego and you under mind control! I could've done that if I'd wanted! But I didn't! And I never would!" He had a very offended and, to Kim's surprise, hurt look on his face. "I'm a supervillain, not a rapist! And now, I would thank you very much to get out of my lair! I have to look after Shego, who, as you might want to know, didn't know anything about these guys when they hired her!"

Kim swallowed and calmed herself a bit before she answered. She could see that she had seriously offended and hurt Drakken with her low-blow, and to her own surprise, she felt bad about it. "Listen, I… I know you could've… had your way with us, so I'm sorry. You're not like that." Drakken seemed to deflate a bit at her words. "That doesn't change, however, that Shego worked for those guys. And if she didn't know about their background, she should've checked."

To her surprise, Drakken nodded, suddenly looking very tired. "You're right. She should have, and I'll talk to her. As a matter of fact, I'll do that right now, so if you'll excuse me? I think you'll find your way out." He turned and left the room, taking the same way Shego had when she'd left.

Kim sighed. This conversation would probably rank pretty high on the weird-o-meter for quite some time. Discussing villain ethics with Dr. Drakken was certainly not something she'd expected to do tonight. On her way out, she activated her Kimmunicator.

"Hey Kim," Wade greeted cautiously.

"Hey Wade," Kim replied. "Thanks again for setting up the ride so quickly. I'll be heading back now. How's Ron?"

"From what I can gather, he hasn't woken up yet. Are you ok?" Wade seemed rather worried, but that wasn't surprising: On the way to Drakken's lair, Kim had given him the short version of what had happened since Friday.

She shrugged. "I'm unhurt, but I guess that's not what you meant." She sighed. "I think I'll feel better when I've made sure Ron's okay."

Team Possible's tech genius nodded. "Okay, I'll call you if there's any new development."

"Thanks Wade, you rock."

The ride back left Kim with plenty of time to think. She was very worried about Ron; seeing him beaten up like this had made her want to beat his tormentors into a pulp. She really hoped he would be okay. For now, she could only wait, and waiting was something Kim Possible was not very good at.

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AN: Truth time! One of my greatest worries in this chapter is my treatment of Drakken. I really like the blue guy, and I hope I didn't make him too ooc for your taste.


	15. Middleton Hospital

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

As always, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed! I'm pretty busy these days, which has led to the long delay, and I'm sorry about that. The next chapter will take some time (again), because I'll be on a business trip for the next two weeks. The story is, however, not abandoned by any means!

That being said, enjoy the new chappie! As always, feedback is highly appreciated!

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When Kim arrived at the hospital, she found her mother waiting for her. "Hey mom, how's Ron?"

"He hasn't woken up yet. Kim, before you go in there, I need to talk to you."

The serious tone in her mother's voice surprised Kim a little; what was there to talk about in a moment like this? However, she nodded and sat down on one of the chairs in the waiting room.

"Kim," Dr. Possible began, "the two guys that kidnapped Ron were brought in right after you'd left. By the way, where were you?"

"I went to Drakken's lair to have a word with Shego."

Dr. Possible's eyes narrowed. "And?"

Kim shrugged. "And I had. Well, actually, I talked to Drakken, but Shego was there. It seems she didn't know about the background of those guys."

"Did you only talk?"

Kim nodded. "I wanted to beat Shego up when I went there, but somehow, Drakken completely threw me off when he demanded I talk to him instead. So, I told them everything, and after that, I was just… spent or something. Anyway, I came back as fast as I could. Can I see Ron now?"

Her mother shook her head. "In a minute. Kim, the guys you took out… Did you want to free Ron, or did you want to beat them into a pulp?"

Kim seemed surprised. "What? I wanted to save Ron, of course! Why do you ask? What happened?"

Dr. Possible sighed. "Kim, the guys were brought here by the police because they were severely injured. We had to operate one of them, and they'll both take a few weeks before they're completely healed."

Kim nodded coldly. "Well, I didn't realize I hit them that hard, but they deserved it." At her mother's shocked expression, Kim's temper rose. "What? Should I feel sorry for them?"

Dr. Possible shook her head. "No, Kimmie, but you shouldn't forget that you are a very strong and capable fighter. It seems you lost control when you fought them; they could have been killed or permanently injured, and then what would you do?"

Kim gulped. "Well… I… I don't know…"

Her mother nodded. "That's why you shouldn't lose control like that. Granted, they are criminals, and with Ron involved, it was kind of personal, but it's not your job to punish them."

The younger Possible nodded, subdued. "I'm sorry, mom. You're right, and it won't happen again."

Dr. Possible nodded and took a deep breath. "Well, in that case, I think you've waited long enough to see Ron. He's in room 17."

Kim hurried to Ron's room after a quick "thanks" to her mother. When she entered, she found Ron, obviously asleep, with Tara sitting beside his bed and Bonnie lying in the second bed.

"Hey," she said quietly. "How are you? Has Ron woken up yet?"

Tara smiled but shook her head. "He hasn't, but the doctor said it's highly probable that he'll sleep the night through, given how late it is."

Kim sat down in the chair on the other side of Ron's bed. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Again, it was Tara who answered. "No, thanks, Kim. I called my parents, and they allowed me to stay here."

Kim turned to Bonnie, who had yet to say something. "How about you?"

The brunette just shook her head. "My parents are out of town, but the doctors want me to stay overnight anyway. I called Connie, though. She's glad we're alright but worried because Lonnie still hasn't come home."

Kim frowned at this news. "Bonnie, do you think… I mean… Could Lonnie be at… you know, the place of…?"

"Connie called there, but no one answered the phone."

"Her cell?" Kim asked.

"No answer, either. And that's really unlike her, no matter how mad she might be. She wouldn't ignore Connie's calls like that."

Kim raised an eye-brow. "What about this: She went to those guys, told them everything she knew. They wanted revenge on Ron and hired Shego to capture him, but they couldn't take Lonnie with them, so they just tied her up or something? Maybe she's at one of their places but can't answer the phone?"

Bonnie looked really worried. "You think they… they…?"

Kim realized what Bonnie was asking. "No, Bonnie, I'm sure they wouldn't do something like that! They must know that they can't get away with murder!"

Tears started rolling down Bonnie's cheeks. "Kim… they… they might just think that. They're… so arrogant. Just because they're filthy rich, they think they're above the law!"

Kim grew worried herself now. "I'll have Wade send someone over and check. Don't worry, Bonnie, I'm sure we'll find her."

The door opened, and a friendly looking nurse entered the room. "I'm sorry, dears, but you'll have to leave now. Visiting hours are long over, and Mr. Stoppable and Ms. Rockwaller need rest."

Tara and Kim rose from their seats, nodding. "Of course," the blonde replied. "We're as good as gone." She turned to her best friend. "Good night, Bonnie, and don't worry. It'll all be okay." She quickly hugged the brunette, then leaned over Ron's bed. "Sleep tight, Ron, I'll be back tomorrow." She kissed him softly on his forehead and left the room.

Kim's throat tightened a little, and she had to clear it before she could say good night to Bonnie. Then she brushed softly through Ron's hair. "Get well soon, Ron."

Outside, Tara was waiting for her. "Kim, I just wanted to say thank you. You know, for letting me come with you."

"No big, Tara. I know how it feels to worry about someone… a friend."

Tara nodded, feeling slightly uneasy. "Kim… believe me, you don't have to worry about me."

The red-head looked at her companion in surprise. Had Tara lost her interest in Ron?

The blonde continued. "I know Ron's very important to you, and you don't want to see him hurt." She looked at Kim with a resolved expression. "I promise this isn't some silly crush, Kim. I really like him a lot, and I want to see him happy."

Kim gulped. She wasn't sure if this was what she wanted to hear right now.

"I also know that you two are best friends, and I don't want to change that. I really want us to be friends, too. I know it's difficult, what with me being best friends with Bonnie and all, but I hope you'll give me a chance."

Kim didn't know what to say, and Tara looked at her expectantly with that big, hopeful smile of hers. Finally, she managed a smile of her own. "Sure, Tara, I'd like that."

"Great!" Tara beamed. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye, Kim!"

"Yeah… bye…" Kim's gaze followed the bubbly blonde as she hurried home, and her mantra 'be a good friend to Ron' resounded mockingly in her head. Tara was honestly falling for Ron, that much was obvious, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. She sighed and shook her head. Somehow, she hadn't managed to talk to Ron this afternoon, and she hadn't managed to talk to her mother, either, and now she was really confused. Why did she feel this stinging sensation when she thought about Ron and Tara together? Surely she didn't begrudge him having a girlfriend? With yet another sigh, she walked home. Perhaps a good night's rest would help her to clear up the sitch. Then she remembered her promise to Bonnie and called Wade.

"Hey Kim, what's up?"

"Hey Wade. I need a favour; Bonnie's sister Lonnie is still missing, and we suspect that she's being held at the place of one of those guys. Could you tip off the police or something?"

"Consider it done. Is there anything else I can do?"

"I don't think so, but thanks for asking. I'll just get home and try to catch some sleep."

Wade nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I'll call you tomorrow if the police find Lonnie."

"Please and thank you, Wade."

With that, Kim switched the device off and went home; it had been a long day, and sleep came to her easily despite the many thoughts that were swirling in her mind.

-

In Middleton Hospital, Bonnie was woken in the middle of the night by whimpering and mumbling. It took her a while to realize that the sounds came from the other bed.

"Ron?" she carefully asked in the darkness. "Ron?"

There was no reaction, however, and the sounds continued. Bonnie reached for the light switch and turned on the lights. Momentarily blinded, she had to shield her eyes until they'd grown used to the sudden brightness. Blinking, she looked over at Ron's bed. The blonde boy was sweating and mumbling in his sleep, and she was pretty sure he was having a nightmare. "Ron, wake up!" When he didn't react to that, Bonnie climbed out of her bed and walked over to him. Now that she could get a closer look, she saw that he was crying in his sleep, but before she could touch him to wake him up, he started talking in his sleep again.

"No… leave me alone… why do you do that… don't… no…"

Bonnie had automatically taken a step back when Ron had started talking again; now she reached for his shoulder, but froze at Ron's next words.

"Bonnie… don't… I can't… no…"

She staggered backward as if hit by a physical blow, her eyes wide. He was having a nightmare about her! Suddenly, she saw vivid images in her mind's eye: her putting Ron down in the hallway, her mocking him during cheer practise, her laughing at him after another mishap, her dumping her lunch over him in the cafeteria. "Oh god…" she murmured. "Oh god…" In the next second, she hurried back to his bedside and shook him awake. "Ron, wake up! Ron!"

The blonde finally woke, breathing heavily. "What? Where? Huh?" He looked around in confusion. "Bonnie? What are you…? Where am I?"

"You're in hospital," she replied softly, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Do you remember what happened?"

He blinked a couple of times, his eyes still adjusting. "I was being held by those guys… They beat me up. Kim came to save me, but I must've passed out after she freed me…"

"That's right. You have two broken ribs and a couple of bruises; that's why you're here."

He nodded, and a momentary silence fell between them. After a couple of seconds, however, Ron spoke again. "And what are you doing here?"

"Well, Tara and I came with Kim, and seeing them again… Let's say I didn't react too well to that." She didn't have to explain who 'they' were; Ron understood perfectly even in his slightly dazed condition.

"Okay, I see. And why did you wake me up?"

She swallowed hard before answering. "You were having a nightmare, Ron."

"Really?" He seemed honestly confused. "I don't remember…"

"You were trashing and mumbling in your sleep, and you were sweating."

"Oh… I guess I woke you up then? I'm sorry…"

Bonnie didn't know what to say. He couldn't remember having a nightmare, and now he apologised for waking her, even though she was the very reason he'd had the nightmare in the first place. Acting on impulse, she carefully wrapped her arms around him. "Shhh, don't. It's not your fault." She held onto him for a while, trying to gather her courage before releasing him and looking him straight in the eye. "Ron, I'm the one who should apologise. You… your nightmare was about me." Ron's eyes widened in surprise, but she continued before he could utter a word. "You were mumbling in your sleep, so I heard. Do you… do you usually have nightmares about me?"

He shook his head. "Bonnie, I don't remember ever having nightmares."

She looked at him, unsure what to do. "You don't? But… I always remember my dreams…"

"I do remember my dreams, Bonnie," he replied. "I have dreams about nacos, missions with KP and stuff like that." He blushed a little, remembering a few other things he'd had dreams about, and hoped Bonnie didn't notice. "Anyway, I don't recall any nightmares." He yawned. "But I'm pretty tired."

"Of course! You go back to sleep, Ron."

"Night, Bonnie."

"Good night, Ron." She wasn't sure if he'd even heard her, for it seemed he was already asleep again. "You won't have any more nightmares about me, I promise," she added in a whisper before climbing back into her bed and switching the light off.


	16. Confrontations

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Once more, my thanks to everyone who left a review! And special thanks for the suggestions and ideas I got! I also have to apologize for yet another delay; I hope you can still remember what the story was about. ;) This chapter proved to be quite a challenge to write, and I guess you'll easily see why. Reviews are, of course, still very welcome!

Enjoy!

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Tuesday morning came, and it was sunny and bright, thereby posing quite a contrast to three young women feeling pretty exhausted even after a night's sleep. Tara had had a hard time falling asleep because she was worried about Ron; Bonnie had stayed awake quite some time to make sure Ron didn't have another nightmare about her; and Kim just felt tired despite the sleep she managed to get. While Bonnie could catch up on her missing sleep, though, Tara and Kim had to face another day at school.

Kim had barely entered Middleton High, when Monique approached her. "Girl! Is it true that Bonnie and Ron are in hospital?"

"Good morning to you, too, Monique," Kim replied sarcastically. While normally, Monique's ability to know almost every rumour could be quite helpful or at least interesting, today it only served to annoy Kim.

Monique noticed that, and she had the grace to blush slightly. "Sorry, Kim; I just couldn't believe it when I heard."

Kim sighed. "Yeah, it was quite some night. Ron got into trouble with a couple of guys, but he'll be fine. I can't tell you anything about Bonnie, though." She was literally saved by the bell then, before Monique could ask any further questions.

After the first period, Tara came to Kim's locker. "Hey Kim! Have you heard any news?"

The teen heroine shook her head. "Hi Tara! Nope, nothing yet, but I haven't talked to Wade yet." She opened her locker only to find Team Possible's tech genius already waiting.

"Hey Kim, good news! The police found Lonnie! She was tied up at the place of one of the guys, but otherwise unharmed. They've taken her to the hospital for a check-up, just to be sure."

Both Kim and Tara breathed a sigh of relief at that, and the redhead smiled. "Bonnie will be glad to hear that."

Wade grinned. "I bet! I guess she'll see her soon, and… oh." He started typing furiously after a sound had come from his system.

"What's the sitch, Wade?" Kim asked automatically. When he blanched and seemed to grow very nervous while still typing, Kim knew something bad had to be up. "Wade?"

"I've just got a hit on the site, Kim… A break-in… at the hospital…"

Kim felt like her stomach was free-falling. "Don't tell me…"

"Yes," he nodded. "It's Drakken and Shego."

--

Kim arrived at the hospital in record time, only to find it surrounded by the police. Somehow, Drakken had managed to install a huge projection screen above the entrance, which at the moment showed none other than the evil scientist himself. "And if you don't stay out, I'll have to hurt patients! So take a clue; we'll be gone soon anyway!" With that, the projection ended.

Officer Hobble approached Kim. "Miss Possible! Thank goodness you're here!"

She just nodded. "Don't worry, Officer Hobble; I'll get them. Just make sure that no one enters the building!"

The policeman merely nodded, and Kim rushed on. She had a pretty good idea where to find the two villains. Fortunately, she remembered the room Ron was in and hurried round the building. Firing her grappling hook once she'd reached her destination, she quickly rose up and entered Ron's room through the window, jumping in and rolling over the ground. She rose in a defensive stance, ready for about anything, but there were only Ron and Bonnie. Ron was still sleeping, and Bonnie looked at her, shocked.

"Bonnie," Kim whispered. "Have Drakken or Shego been here?"

The brunette slowly shook her head. "No."

Kim scowled. Where else…? Then she hit her forehead in realization. "Ok. Bonnie, you stay here and make sure Ron's alright; I'll go after blue and green."

Bonnie nodded, and Kim left the room quietly.

The teen heroine could make an educated guess where Drakken and Shego could be if they were not in Ron's room. Unfortunately, she didn't know in which room the two wannabe rapists were, so she sneaked through the corridors, trying to find her arch-foes.

Said arch-foes were currently standing in Marv's and Pete's room. The two guys had managed to scramble from their beds despite their injuries and were currently on their knees in front of Shego, while Dr. Drakken stood at the door.

"Please! Please don't hurt us! We'll pay any price! You name it, you get it, please!" Marv begged in desperation.

"You think you can buy your way out of this?" Shego snarled in a tone that sounded more like an animal than a human being.

"Please!" Pete chimed in a choked voice. "Stoppable got it all wrong! We didn't want to rape that girl!"

"Is that so?" Shego replied with a cruel grin. "Dr. D, if you please?"

The blue-skinned megalomaniac aimed a ray-gun at the two guys and fired, before they could say anything. Marv and Pete looked at each other.

"What was that?" Marv asked timidly.

Dr. Drakken showed his toothiest smile. "That, my dear boy, was my truth ray. So you didn't want to rape that girl?"

"Nnnn… yes!" Pete exclaimed, then clapped his hands over his mouth in shock and panic.

Shego's hands lit up.

"But… but why do you mind?" Marv cried. "You work for him, too! He's a criminal as well!" He pointed a shaky finger at Dr. Drakken.

Shego's face contorted into a grimace of rage. "Oh no… You did not just compare Dr. D to the likes of you!" she bellowed. "He's an evil mastermind who wants to take over the world! He's villainous gold while you… you're lower than the lowest scum!"

"Shego…?" Drakken's voice came softly in a moved tone from behind her.

She turned with a heavy sigh, her rage momentarily extinguished. "Yeah, Dr. D, I just said what you thought I said, and if you ever mention that I said it, I'll have to fry you," she replied to his unspoken question in a monotone voice. "Are we clear?"

The evil scientist merely nodded with a smile that showed how touched he was.

Shego turned back to the two guys cowering in front of her. "As for you…" Her hands lit up again, but before she could say or do anything else, the door flew open and Kim Possible jumped in.

"Give up, Shego!"

"Kim Possible!" Drakken exclaimed. "What are you doing here? My threat was supposed to keep you outside!"

Shego grinded her teeth, while Kim just raised an eye-brow. "Did you honestly think I'd let you alone in the same building as Ron?"

The blue-skinned madman scratched his chin confusedly. "Who?"

"Her sidekick!" Shego snarled in response, then turned to Kim. "Alright, princess, here's the deal: You let me deal with that scum, and then we'll leave without a fight," she said, pointing at the two scared and whimpering guys at her feet.

Kim sighed. "You know I can't let you do that, Shego."

The green-skinned beauty growled in frustration. "Oh, come on! They're the ones who hospitalized your sidekick! Who almost raped your classmate! What do you care if I rip some unneeded parts off?"

"I care because I'm one of the good guys," Kim calmly replied. "It's tempting, but it's against the law and my ethics. Trust me, they'll be brought to justice, but I can't let you torture them."

There was a tension-filled pause. Kim and Shego stared at each other, while Drakken looked back and forth between them.

Finally, Drakken cleared his throat. "Well then, here's another deal: You let us go without a fight, or Shego will have to hurt them."

Shego laughed mirthlessly. "Scratch hurt, Dr. D!" she said without breaking eye-contact with Kim. "I'll rip their heads off," she continued in a low and menacing voice.

Kim gulped. Shego seemed serious about it, which wasn't all that surprising. She thought about risking it anyway for a moment, but then her mother's voice echoed in her mind; she knew she couldn't live with herself if someone died because of a risk she'd taken, even if it was someone like either of those two. She relaxed her stance a bit. "Alright, Shego. Take Drakken and leave now."

Shego turned to the two guys one last time. "You guys are luckier than anyone has any right to be." Then she looked at her red-headed foe. "And you are softer than you should be."

"Maybe I am," Kim replied. "But I can't change who I am."

Shego looked at her with something that could almost be called respect. "Well, same here, pumpkin."

"Come, Shego!" Drakken called. "We'll see you another time, Kim Possible!" With that, he left the room.

The green-skinned villainess followed him, but stopped at the door, turning to Kim one last time. "You tell Stoppable I wanna see him up and about when you come to foil Dr. D's plans again."

"I will," Kim replied, clearly surprised.

Shego nodded. "Then till next time, princess!" With that, she left.

Only a few minutes later, the hospital started to turn back to normal. The police freed the personnel who had been locked up in storage rooms and started taking everyone's statements.

--

When Kim had made her statement, she returned to Ron's and Bonnie's room before heading back to school.

"Is everything alright?" Bonnie asked worriedly.

Kim nodded. "Yeah, Drakken and Shego are gone. Has Ron woken up?"

Bonnie seemed reassured and relaxed visibly. "He was awake for a few minutes tonight but hasn't woken up since."

"Really? How was he? What did he say?" Kim asked anxiously.

"Well, he was pretty tired. He could remember everything, which I guess is a good sign. Then he fell asleep again."

"Right," Kim replied. "Yeah, that has to be good." She sighed and gently ran her hand through his hair. "I just wish he'd wake up soon."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed suspiciously at this. "Yeah, Tara will be very happy, too."

Kim flinched ever so slightly, but it was all the confirmation Bonnie needed.

"Yes, they still have a date to go on," Kim said.

"They do," Bonnie agreed. "I just hope nothing else will come between them now," she added suggestively.

Kim looked at her curiously. "What else could come between them?"

"Oh, I don't know… best friend falling for him perhaps?"

"Are you saying you're falling for Ron?" Kim asked, dumbfounded.

"What?" Bonnie's eyes widened. "No! Of course not!"

"That's good to know," came a weak male voice from the bed. "Cause I don't think I'd survive even the first argument."

"Ron!" Kim and Bonnie exclaimed at the same time.

The redhead carefully hugged her best friend. "Hey, how are you?"

He blinked a few times to become fully awake before answering. "I've been better, but I'm gonna be okay. How're you?"

Kim smiled. "Better now. Listen, I gotta head back to school, but I'll be back later and I'll bring Tara along. How does that sound?"

Ron grinned mischievously. "Add Rufus and a naco to that, and I'll be the happiest patient in Middleton."

She rolled her eyes theatrically. "Alright, alright, I'll see what I can do, Mr. Greedy. See you later, Ron! Later, Bonnie!"

"Later, KP!" Ron replied.

"Bye, K," Bonnie answered.

On her way back to school, Bonnie's words echoed in Kim's mind. Was the brunette suggesting what Kim thought she was suggesting? Whatever gave Bonnie the idea that she was falling for Ron? 'Well, am I?' She almost tripped when she realized that she didn't know.

In the hospital, Bonnie was doing some thinking, too. She was sure that Kim felt more for Ron than she'd let on, although she deemed it possible that Kim hadn't realized that herself yet. That left her with the question how Ron felt.

"Hey Bonnie," Ron interrupted her musings. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just thinking."

"About what?"

"Tara."

"Oh." He got a little nervous. "I just hope she's not angry with me."

Bonnie's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why should she be?"

"Well, I missed our date! And the first rule of dating is that you never ever, under no circumstances, stand your date up, no matter what!"

Bonnie almost had to laugh, relaxing considerably. "Ron? You do realize that you were kidnapped? That counts as excuse!"

He lit up at that. "Really?" He exhaled. "Wow, that's a relief."

In that moment, a nurse came in to do a check-up on Ron, and Bonnie turned away in her bed. She decided to keep an eye on Kim, just to make sure her best friend wouldn't get hurt. Before she could give the whole matter more thought, however, two policemen entered the room. "Miss Bonnie Rockwaller?"

She looked at them, confused. "Yeah, that's me?"

One of them took a seat beside her bed. "We need to ask you a few questions about Friday evening," he told her in a quiet voice.

Bonnie paled. "What? Why?"

The policeman adopted a very gentle and understanding expression. "We understand that you were victim of an attempt at violation, and we need your statement. We'll talk to Mr. Stoppable as well, as soon as his check-up is finished."

Bonnie's face lost the little amount of colour it had still held. "How…? How do you…?"

"Well," the man answered patiently and calmly, "the two young men that tried to commit that violation confessed everything when we took their statements about the attack of the two criminals known as Dr. Drakken and Shego this morning. They claimed to be under the influence of a truth ray, but we suspect it was just their guilty conscience catching up with them."

Bonnie would have laughed if she hadn't been so utterly shocked. Guilty conscience? As if! She remembered, though, that Kim and Ron had been under the influence of a truth ray once; that day, she had made front cover of a cheerleading magazine. Finally collecting her thoughts, she managed to give an answer. "I see. Could I give my statement with Ron Stoppable present?" she asked in a low and slightly shaky voice. "It's not easy for me to talk about it, you know?"

The officer nodded understandingly. "That will be no problem whatsoever, Miss Rockwaller."


	17. Returning home

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Whoa, finally! First of all, my apologies for the delay! My computer completely broke down (the motherboard, to be precise), and it took an entire week till I got it back from the shop (with the nice comment that I had to reinstall Windows and all the software I had -grmbl-). Anyway, here's a new chapter! As always, thanks for the reviews; the feedback really keeps me motivated to keep the chapters coming! I hope you'll enjoy the new installment and look forward to you comments!

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A few hours later, Ron lay in his bed, thinking. It had been an interesting day to say the least. After the check-up, Bonnie had told him about Drakken's and Shego's visit to the hospital. After that, he'd calmly sat at her side when the police took her statement about Friday night. He had to suppress a smirk when he thought about the fact that it was Drakken's truth ray that had brought everything into the open. Talk about irony.

He glanced over to the brunette. Bonnie had been very tense when she gave her statement, holding his hand in an iron grip that he still felt, but he had a feeling that it had been good for her to speak about it. He had given his own statement afterwards, and only a few minutes after the police had left, there had been another surprise: Connie and Lonnie had visited.

It had been a tearful reunion and a pretty awkward situation for him, but he was glad that the sisters had finally talked. He knew they wouldn't turn into a happy family over night, but it was a start. Now Bonnie seemed more relaxed than he had seen her in quite some time.

"What?" the brunette asked when she noticed his look.

"Uh, nothing," he replied quickly and looked away again. If there was one thing he didn't need right now, it was an argument.

Bonnie sighed. "Ron, we need to talk."

The boy gulped. "Err, we do?"

„Yes, we do. Listen, I… I really need to apologize to you. I know I've said it once, but things are going to change, and I mean it," she said with all the conviction she could muster.

"Bonnie, you've apologized already; it's cool."

She shook her head. "No, Ron, it's not. You got kidnapped and beaten up because you stood up for someone who didn't deserve your help in the least." She looked at him now. "I… I'll never be able to make it up to you."

Ron sighed. "Well, if you wanna make it up to me, there's something you can do."

Automatically, Bonnie became suspicious. "And what's that?"

Ron didn't seem to notice the change in her. "You could lay off KP. She's my best friend, and you're being totally unfair to her. I mean, you don't have to be friends with her, but you could stop being so nasty to her."

She looked at him, wide-eyed, waiting for him to say something else. When he didn't, she asked: "That's it? I mean, that's all?"

He shrugged and grinned. "Well, I wouldn't say 'no' to a naco, either, but yeah."

Bonnie gulped hard. "Poss… Kim saved my sister. And she helped me… so yes, of course I'll leave her alone." Thinking about it, she felt herself shiver. Could she have been wrong about both of them? Could Kim and Ron really be all that? Finally, she shook her head and looked at Ron again. "And you can consider yourself my guest when we go to Bueno Nacho."

"Boo-ya!" came the instant reply of one happy blond.

Bonnie couldn't help but smile. 'He's just a big goof after all,' she thought fondly. 'And a great friend to have,' she added with a slight feeling of sorrow and guilt.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Kim and Tara entered the room, carrying flowers and a huge Bueno Nacho bag.

Ron's eyes immediately lit up at the sight. After saying hello, Tara and Kim took seats, while the blond boy started devouring the contents of the bag with the help of Rufus. Kim had indeed managed to smuggle the naked mole-rat into the room, and now she watched with a smile as her best friend happily stuffed himself.

"Kim," Bonnie started. "I want to thank you for saving my sister."

"No big," Kim answered with a smile. "All I did was having Wade send the police over to check if she was there. I'm just glad she's okay."

"So am I," Bonnie said.

A silent moment passed between the two long-time rivals. Kim could see that something was different about Bonnie, and it seemed to be a change for the better. Hopefully, it would last.

In the meantime, Tara was sitting at Ron's side, watching him with a fond smile. "So Ron, about our date…"

He swallowed, and his voice sounded worried when he spoke. "Yeah, about that… I'm really, really sorry I stood you up, Tara. If Shego hadn't come…"

She giggled. "I know, Ron." Could he become any cuter? "Perhaps we should just give it another try?" she asked hopefully.

Ron smiled broadly. "Sure thing! The doctor said I could go home tonight, as long as I rested and relaxed. So how about tomorrow?"

"That would be great," she replied with a beaming smile.

"Pick you up at seven?" he asked.

"I'll be waiting." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "See you tomorrow."

While Ron sighed contently with a dreamy smile on his face, Tara said good-bye to the others and left.

Kim, who had watched the exchange between the two blondes uncomfortably, turned to Bonnie again. "So when will you be released?"

"Today," the brunette answered, before her voice gained a suggestive tone. "So, do I have to worry about Tara's date with Ron?"

"No, you don't," Kim said. She had thought about it all the time since leaving the hospital earlier that day. She had admitted to herself that she didn't like the idea of Ron with another girl, but she had decided that she would be the supportive best friend that Ron deserved. He had done so much for her, and if he was interested in Tara, she'd support him. She also believed Tara that she was being sincere about Ron, that much was clear after their last talk, so she didn't have to worry about her best friend getting hurt, at least not on purpose.

Bonnie looked at Kim intently, trying to figure out if the red-head was being truthful. When she couldn't find any evidence to the contrary, she finally nodded. "Okay."

"What are you talking about?" Ron suddenly chimed in. "Why would Bonnie have to worry?"

Both girls grew flustered.

"Ah…" Bonnie started.

"It's because of the villains, Ron!" Kim burst out. Under Ron's confused look, she continued, stammering slightly. "Eh, because Shego kidnapped you last time, you know? So Wade's keeping an eye on all villain activity to make sure that we don't have to worry about your next date!"

Ron smiled. "Aww, that's nice of you, KP." Both girls released their breath. "But do you really think something else will happen?"

Kim smiled back, relieved that Ron had believed her. "Well, no, but you know: better safe than sorry."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I guess you're right. After all, look at what happened during your date with Mankey!"

Kim shivered at the thought, while Bonnie looked at them curiously. "What happened?" she asked.

"Oh, Drakken and Shego tried to make Kim disappear with some strange powder," Ron replied. "Every time she blushed, another part of her disappeared, but fortunately, we found a cure for that."

"Which reminds me," Kim interrupted before Bonnie could ask another question, "that Shego gave me a message for you, Ron."

His eyes grew wide. "She did? What did she say?"

"She wants to see you up and about the next time we stop Drakken." After a moment, she added: "I guess that's Shego's way of saying she's sorry."

They talked a while longer; Bonnie told Kim about the two guys being arrested and how it came to pass, and Kim told them what had happened in Drakken's lair.

Then, Kim's mother arrived and told them that she'd take Ron home, since his parents were away. Connie and Lonnie arrived only a few minutes later to pick up their sister, and so they all left.

On their way home, Dr. Possible addressed Ron. "So, Ron, since you're parents aren't home, would you like to stay for the night? I'd feel better if I knew you weren't alone tonight."

Ron just smiled. "There's no place I'd rather be, Mrs. Dr. P." He didn't notice Kim's satisfied smile, as he was looking at his best buddy. "Sounds like we get a piece of Mrs. Dr. P's fabulous brain loaf tonight, Rufus."

The little rodent smiled. "Brain loaf!"

Kim had to smile despite herself. She still thought her mother's brain loaf was a bit gross, but having Ron over meant she would finally be able to talk to him.

A few minutes later, Kim and Ron were sitting in Kim's room, while her mother bustled about in the kitchen.

"So," Kim began. When Ron looked at her, waiting for her to continue, she felt slightly nervous. Since when did she feel nervous around Ron? "It's been a weird week so far, hasn't it?"

"Tell me about it, KP! I mean, getting captured by Shego has probably been the most normal part of it."

Kim had to laugh a little. "Yeah, you're right. So, how d'you feel about the new you?"

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, seems like you're Bonnie's personal hero now, and you're dating Tara."

He remained silent for a moment. "Wow," he finally said in a hushed tone. "I… I guess you're right. I haven't had much time to think about it, you know?"

Kim nodded. "It's quite a change. So…" She hesitated for a moment. „How do you feel about Tara?" That was it. The question she'd wanted to ask ever since she'd overheard Tara asking Ron out.

"Ooooooh…" Ron got that dreamy look again. "She's so… so… wooooow…"

Kim swallowed. Had she been the same when she'd had that crush on Josh Mankey? She hoped not. Aynway, while she wasn't overly happy, at least, she now knew for sure that her best friend was crushing hard on the bubbly blonde.

"I just hope nothing happens on our date tomorrow," he continued, suddenly worried. "I mean, it has taken me so long to get a date, and then I get kidnapped… Maybe I'm cursed or something?"

Kim put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Ron. You're not cursed, and your date will be great."

This, however, didn't reassure Ron. "How can you be so sure? How do you know?"

She smiled. "I told you, I'll see to it that no one and nothing interferes."

He started pacing. "But what if I mess it up? How can I escape the curse?"

"There is no curse, Ron!" Kim said firmly. "And I can give you an excellent reason why you won't mess up."

He stopped. "Really? What reason's that?"

Rufus, who had climbed on his master's shoulder to calm him down, looked as curiously at Kim as Ron.

"Simple," she replied confidently. "Tara is so crushing on you that you won't be able to mess it up, no matter what you do."

"You… you think so?" Ron asked with wide eyes.

"Trust me, Ron, I know the signs." Of course she did. She had seen them with Tara once before and with Yori when the Japanese girl had come to Middleton to get Ron's help.

"Thanks Kim!" he replied, relaxing visibly.

Despite everything, she had to smile inwardly; Ron was so clueless when it came to girls. 'Which might be lucky for you, Possible,' she added mentally. By now she was pretty certain that she was developing something for him herself, whatever that something was exactly, but she couldn't and wouldn't interfere with Ron and Tara. She sighed.

"You okay, KP?" Ron interrupted her thoughts.

"What? Oh, yeah, of course!" Kim answered with a bright smile plastered on her face. "I'm just a bit tired, is all."

"You? Tired?" Ron asked. "Are you sure you're alright?" Ron was growing slightly worried. Kim was one of the most energetic persons he knew, so being tired in the early evening was highly unusual for her.

Kim was spared the answer, because when she opened her mouth to convince Ron that she was indeed alright, her mother called them down for dinner.

"Come on, Ron!" she called while hurrying towards the trap door. 'Saved by the bell,' she thought.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. After dinner, Kim forced Ron to complete the homework he'd missed while he was in hospital, and once he'd finally finished (not without a lot of moans and complaints), they watched TV till Kim's mother announced that Ron should get some sleep.

Lying in her bed and clutching her pandaroo, Kim sighed. Why did everything have to be so complicated all of a sudden? Even after the moodulator incident, Kim hadn't felt like this, although she had to admit that it was then that she had stopped looking at other guys. Perhaps she had subconsciously accepted that she would end up with Ron eventually. 'And would it be such a bad thing?' she questioned herself. 'He's always there for me, he cares for me, he's funny, and he…' Suddenly, an image of Tara appeared in front of her mind's eye. 'And he's totally crushing on Tara.' A single tear escaped her eye. 'Why do I have to develop feelings for my best friend now that someone else notices him? Or have I had those feelings for a long time already and just never realized it?' With these questions repeated over and over in her mind, she finally fell asleep.


	18. The start of something new

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or any of the show's characters (unfortunately). This fic is written solely to entertain; I do not earn anything (except reviews).

AN: This story ignores the events of StD, but includes all the episodes of the series.

Without any further ado, on to the last chapter!

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Ron awoke to the sound of someone coming down the stairs. He'd slept on the couch in the living room and felt very relaxed this morning.

"Good morning, Ron," he was greeted by the woman whose footsteps had woken him up.

"Good morning, Mrs. Dr. P," he replied after a huge yawn.

"Did I wake you up?" Kim's mother asked, already on her way to the kitchen. "I don't recall you being such a light sleeper."

"Nah," he said. "I guess I just got enough sleep in the hospital." The fact that Mrs. Dr. Possible had sent him to bed as early as ten o'clock last night might have been another factor. "Can I help you with making breakfast?"

"Why, that would be nice," came the reply from the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Mrs. Dr. Possible and Ron were busy preparing a huge breakfast.

"It's been a while since last we made breakfast like this," she remarked.

Ron smiled. "Yeah, it must've been years." He remembered. When he and Kim had a sleepover at her place, he would often climb down the stairs in the morning and ask Mrs. Dr. Possible if he could help her in the kitchen; she would always say 'yes', and then they'd whip up an enormous breakfast for the entire family. It had become sort of a tradition, but when the regular sleepovers had stopped, so had the huge breakfast.

"Yes," she agreed. "So how are you feeling today?"

"Oh, I'm fine. I mean, sure, there's a few sore spots, but that pain med I got in the hospital's working really great."

She smiled. "That's good to hear. So what else is new? From what I gathered, you've had a few very interesting days."

"Ooooh yeah, Mrs. Dr. P! It's been beyond weird!"

And while they continued to prepare breakfast, Ron told Kim's mother about everything that had happened.

-

Tara awoke in a positively giddy mood minutes before her alarm clock would have woken her up. She jumped out of bed and hurried into the bathroom to get ready for school; not that she would have had to hurry: To make sure that she'd be there early (to see Ron as soon as possible), she had already decided what to wear before going to bed the previous night and laid everything out. She had chosen one of her prettiest ensembles, just for Ron: a black skirt and a sky blue top. After getting ready and having a quick breakfast, she checked herself in the large mirror one last time, and, nodding her approval, left for school.

-

Bonnie was woken up abruptly by the merciless beeping of her alarm clock. She had only had a few hours of sleep last night. After returning from hospital, her sisters had insisted that they have dinner together, and then she had had to plan for today. A feral grin appeared on her beautiful face. She had promised Ron she'd make it up to him, and she intended to keep that promise. The last time she'd tried that she'd been overwhelmed by the peer pressure from the so-called High School elite; this time, however, she was ready for that, having prepared an entire evening, and would strike back without mercy. She would show them who the Queen Bee of Middleton High truly was.

-

Kim only woke up when her mother almost threw her out of bed. Sleep hadn't come easily last night, and when she'd finally managed to fall asleep, her rest had been disturbed by many rather unpleasant dreams.

"Come on, Kimmie, Ron and I made breakfast!"

"I'm up, I'm up," Kim muttered, finally dragging herself out of bed and into the bathroom. It took a pretty long shower and quite a bit of stretching, but finally, she felt awake and ready to face the day. When she came down into the kitchen, the rest of her family and Ron were already sitting at the table and enjoying the enormous breakfast that her mother and her best friend had prepared. "Wow, this is just like…" She smiled as happy memories of many sleepovers flooded her mind.

Her mother smiled. "Yeah, it has been too long since we had the last huge family breakfast, hasn't it?"

Her question was followed by general agreement from everyone, while Kim took her seat. As she sat there beside Ron and helped herself to some scrambled egg, a heartfelt smile appeared on her lips. Yes, this was her family. Her content smile never wavered, even as she nudged Ron with her elbow when his table manners went from medieval to downright prehistoric.

-

In spite of taking their time with breakfast, Kim and Ron managed to arrive at school early. While Ron took that as a sign of the nearing apocalypse, Kim just grinned and told him that it would give him more time to talk to his girlfriend. When Ron looked at her with a confused expression, she pointed toward his locker, where Tara was waiting. After greeting the bubbly blonde, she quickly went over to her own locker, when she saw a few girls approaching Ron and Tara.

"Hey Tara, whatever happened?" Jennifer, one of Middleton High's social elite, asked with a sneer. "Have you lost every last bit of brain you had over the weekend?" she continued amidst the giggles of the posse that accompanied her.

Tara, however, didn't back off as the girls might have expected and was just about to say something, when Bonnie entered the conversation. "Hey Tara, hey Ron," she greeted. "You ready for first period?"

Jennifer looked at Bonnie as if she were an alien before regaining her composure. "Rockwaller, please don't tell me you're playing nice with the losers."

Bonnie smirked. "I don't, or do you see me saying something nice to you?"

Again, it took Jennifer a moment to find an answer. "What? Are you labelling me a loser?" she asked, outraged.

The brunette showed her full-fledged barracuda grin and went in for the kill. "Wow, look at you! You actually understood it! At long last, all that tutoring seems to be paying off!"

Jennifer paled; the fact that she had tutors was an embarrassing secret she'd hoped would never be revealed, but Bonnie wasn't finished.

"And while we're talking about loser stuff, shouldn't you finally remove that hideous Oh-Boyz-poster from your locker? I mean, seriously… But wait! I know what you could do with it! Send it to your brother Warren! Isn't he still in jail? I bet he could use something to decorate the wall of his cell with!"

Jennifer had lost all colour during Bonnie's little speech. She stifled a sob and turned on her heel, making a dash for the restrooms.

Bonnie turned to the other girls that had come with Jennifer and looked at them with an eerily friendly smile. "Now, do any of you have anything to say to Tara or Ron?"

The girls quickly shook their heads and rushed off.

The brunette crossed her arms in front of her chest and nodded. "Yep, I still got it."

Tara was the first to find her voice again. "Thanks, Bonnie. I mean, wow! How did you know all that embarrassing stuff about Jennifer?"

Bonnie turned toward the two blondes. "Oh please! I'm in the inner circle of almost everything around here… Of course I know these things..."

Ron had to grin. "You mean you could totally destroy the reputation of anyone like that?"

She looked at him seriously. "Well, apart from Kim and you, yes. Why? You have someone specific in mind?"

He quickly shook his head, laughing. "No no, Bonnie, I was just curious. Come on, Tara, I'll walk you to your class, okay?"

Tara smiled. "Thanks Ron, that's sweet. See you later, Bonnie!"

When the two blondes had left, Kim, who had stayed in the background during the encounter, approached Bonnie.

"So, I take it that Tara and Ron won't have to worry about what others might say?"

"You've heard everything?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes, and I have to admit I was surprised."

Bonnie's shoulders sagged a bit, and her voice grew very quiet. "I promised things would be different, and I intend to keep that promise."

Kim looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out if she could believe her long-time rival. "You really mean it, don't you?"

The brunette looked Kim straight in the eye. "Yes, I do. It's the least I can do for him after… you know…"

Kim nodded. "I see."

"And there's one other thing, Kim…" Bonnie hesitated for a moment before continuing. "We've never been friends or anything, but you helped a lot… and I really want to become friends with Ron, and I know you two are a package deal, so…" She sighed. "I'd like to call a truce."

After a few seconds, the redhead smiled. "I'd like that, Bonnie."

Both girls smiled briefly and nodded.

"Okay, I'll see you later then," Kim finally said.

On her way to her locker, she smiled again and shook her head. Leave it to Ron to change Bonnie Rockwaller of all people. Granted, it had taken an extreme situation and quite a bit of pain on his part, but Kim was actually positive that she wouldn't revert to her old ways this time. After all, it even seemed as if Bonnie and her sisters were working things out, something Kim would have thought nearly impossible ever since meeting Connie and Lonnie. And with the two bad guys in prison, Kim didn't expect Ron's next date with Tara to be in danger of being cancelled or interrupted again. And if there was a guy who deserved a bit of happiness, it certainly was Ron. True, she still needed to work out what her own feelings about all this were, but she was sure she'd be able to deal. After all, she could do anything, so continuing to be Ron's bestest friend, just as she'd been ever since Pre-K, should be no big. With this self-assurance in mind, Kim entered the classroom for another day of High School education.

-

It only took the morning classes for the new rumours to spread: The first one was that Ron was dating Tara, and the second one was that Bonnie was ripping apart anyone who made fun of Ron.

Understandably, quite a few people were rather surprised and doubted the truth of these rumours, but during lunch-time, it quickly became apparent that there had to be a certain amount of truth to them: Tara, Ron, Kim, Bonnie, Monique and Felix were found sitting at a table and having lunch together (even though Monique and Felix seemed slightly bemused by that), and Bonnie fixed anyone who came near with a look, daring them to say something about it.

Vice-principal Steve Barkin just stood in the cafeteria and watched the whole thing. "So oil and water are mixing now," he muttered in a tone of disbelief as the entire table erupted in laughter because of something Ron had said. 'But then again, why am I surprised?' he thought. 'It's Possible and Stoppable, after all.' With that thought and a small smile, he left the cafeteria, just in time to miss a PDA between one bubbly cheerleader and one freckled mascot.

THE END

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Wow, it's done! My very first fanfic is completed after going on for over half a year! Admittedly, it didn't turn out quite as I had planned in the beginning, but I have to say I'm pretty happy with how it turned out in the end. Hopefully, you aren't disappointed, either. :)

A big and heartfelt "thank you" to all of you (I still can't believe the number of hits this fic got!), and another very special "thank you" for all the wonderful reviews I got after every chapter! They were the best motivation I could imagine, and I'm sure I wouldn't have managed to post half the amount of chapters by now without them!

I know the ending almost cries out for a sequel, but I don't know yet if I should do one; I'm open to suggestions though. ;)


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